Sensitivity classes, huh? I don’t know what to think. I may be way off base here, but I can’t imagine that I could ever “truly” be insensitive.

Usually I wouldn’t take the time to respond to a letter to the editor due to the fact that I believe that we are all right in our own opinions. But a certain letter last week touched me in a way that was most uncomfortable.

To refresh your memory, I wrote a column with the intention of spreading a little humor upon a campus that was surely distraught about Iowa State losing a heartbreaker to UCLA. In that column I listed three reasons that the Cyclones lost, all fictional reasons mind you. One of those fictional reasons made reference to a certain section of the female anatomy. I referred to that section of anatomy as “hooters.”

There was a respected gentlewoman, who was also a respected senior editor that wrote a letter to the editor expressing an obvious disdain for my reference. I later found out that a few student employees at the Iowa State Daily found themselves in discussions, in class with professors, about the properness of the reference.

My concern comes from the fact that so much was based on a word, rather than seeing the purpose of the column. Then the question of sexism arose.

Am I sexist? Maybe, but aren’t we all to a certain extent.

Do I think that men are better than women? Of course not. Women have many qualities that stretch beyond a man’s abilities, and vice versa. I love women. In fact, I’m very pleased that God made Eve.

And why is a slang reference to breasts so inappropriate? Why is it offensive? Those who follow my writing understand that much of, in fact most of, what I write is written with satirical intentions. Had the gentlewoman who wrote the letter to the editor read my column more than once, then maybe she would have seen that in actuality, I was poking fun at the stereotypical view that all men are mesmerized by what we call “hooters”. Even to the fictional point that ISU lost a basketball game because of it!

If my slang offended some women out there, I offer no apology, but a hope that those offended will somehow retain thicker skin. So am I a Larry Flynt wannabe because I used the word “hooters?” Actually, Mr. Flynt would probably take more offense to that than I would.

I respect Mr. Flynt for what he has done for the freedom of the press, but hardly hold a fondness for his character or his work. Oh, the power of a word. It is actually tragic that more people respond to a word that has little or no meaning than to an actual topic that holds weight in our every day lives. Remember, my column is written to speak to students of ISU on a personal basis as if I were having a conversation at a bar. I refuse to cram politically correct crap down your throats. If you want that, don’t turn to the sports page on Tuesdays because my writing isn’t going to change any time soon. If I offend some people at times, I assure you that no personal harm was intended. If you’re still offended, that’s your problem. Have a good day and Brian Johnson rocks!

We’ll talk later.

---

CHAD CALEK is a junior in journalism and mass communications from Persia. He is the sports editor of the Daily.