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LETTER: In #MeToo moment, columnist's comments not acceptable

Dear Editor: Re: Cassidy, Booth in Two-woman WV Mayoral Race , July 27 opinion column by Trevor Lautens.
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Dear Editor:

Re: Cassidy, Booth in Two-woman WV Mayoral Race, July 27 opinion column by Trevor Lautens.

Regardless of the fact that I am the father of two young girls, the tone and choice of words used to describe Christine Cassidy would be laughable if it wasn’t 2018.

In the face of #metoo, did you or Trevor Lautens not read this piece and think that using “Dresden china doll,” “delicate porcelain skin” and “stiletto sharp question” would or could be seen as patriarchally biased? Why not mention her long shapely legs, or impressive bust?

If such descriptors were required to reach a minimum word count, why were they not gender balanced to describe Michael Smith as “leathered by his years in the foul oil patch,” “exhausted by the years of seeking greater tax deductions from his executive pay rate” or some other nonsense?

I’d expect a long and sincere apology to Ms. Cassidy from your paper, and would request Mr. Lautens think long and hard about his role in continuing the tone of white male privilege that, obviously and unfortunately, continues in Canadian media.

Paul Mon-Kau
North Vancouver

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