So, Lance Bass is gay (“Bye, bye, bye closet,” July 27).
On one hand I am happy for him for finally coming out, but the more I think about it the more I am irritated that he didn’t do this at the height of ‘N Sync’s popularity.
Just think about how many young kids he could have helped and positively affected. Just think about all those conflicted teenagers that looked up to this group while going through hell with the self-hate and shame they were mired in.
And if he would have come out then, those conflicted teens would have thought, “Wow, if this guy in this group that I look up to is gay and not ashamed to come out, then there is nothing to be ashamed of.”
Lance is quoted as saying that he is not ashamed, but his actions are saying that he was. His actions say there is something wrong with being gay. His actions reinforce people’s thinking about that.
Actions speak louder than words. If everyone who is gay (including all these scared little celebrities) would just come out, then people’s minds would be bound to change. It has been said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”
Darren Andrews, 31, Andersonville
Attack of the co-workers
My former manager would take her bad marriage, weight problem and numerous insecurities out on me (“The jerk at work,” July 26 cover story). She was condescending and would fly off the handle at the drop of a hat. Doing work for her was absolutely thankless. The last straw was when she screamed at me in front of other co-workers for leaving work at 7 p.m. (after being there since 7:30 a.m.). This was also after about a month of 70-hour workweeks. I lost the last remaining shred of respect I had for her.
Fortunately for me, she left a few months later. Now I come to find out no one cared for her, and she had imposed her bad attitude on many people in the office. The karma bus is on the lookout for her, I’m sure. At least she taught me about the type of professional NOT to be.
Angela Davis, 29, River North
Office spaced-out
I worked for a suburban company that employed many eccentric characters. One in particular was fond of snacking on Cheetos at his desk every day. As a result, his keyboard and mouse turned orange and crusty. This same co-worker would also use his lunch breaks to don shorts, black socks, sandals and a very large cowboy hat to walk in circles around the tiny corporate pond, GPS in hand, pointed skyward.
Gina Fanelli Ahern, 33, Glen Ellyn
Weasel hunt
I work with the most annoying person on the planet. He is the office weasel: chronically tardy, chronically absent, waltzes in and out of the office whenever he feels like it. He weasels out of work and gets away with it. Oh, and he almost burned the office to the ground making Pop Tarts in the office toaster.
Kathleen Page, Glendale Heights
Sorry!
Unfortunately, I have a really loud voice. I can’t help it–if I try and lower it, the person on the other end of the phone can’t hear me. I think I’ve chased away four others from sharing my cubicle. I apologize to everyone for all of us with genetically loud voices.
Sarah Denning, 47, Hoffman Estates
You better shop around
I just read your articles regarding iPod horror stories (“Die Pods,” July 24 cover story).
I found it very humorous when one of the readers was quoted as having problems and being very upset only to then say they’re going to buy a Nano. While I admit that the user interface on the iPods is great, people should also consider other media players. There is an entire world of other products out there that might not be as cute and might not have as much marketing hype, but are technically much better devices.
I’ve had a number of players myself (including an iPod Mini) and by far my favorite is the iRiver. My player of choice is a 1-gigabyte iRiver, which is nearly 2 years old. It has voice recording, line-in recording, FM tuner and many more options that are not common on iPods. Most important is the sound quality is better than any iPod. All that and it’s just a bit larger than a Bic lighter.
There are so many options out there. It’s just that people following the mass marketing hype machine figure that there are so many people that have something, that it has to be good. A little research goes a long way.
Ed Bethishou, 40, Jefferson Park
