Letters to the Editor
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
‘Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs’
While reading “Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs” by Daniel Freedman [Oped, September 6, 2006], I was sitting just yards from a dog owner, laughing, talking and frolicking with his dog near the fountain at 100th street in Riverside Park.
I once had an ugly encounter with this individual and his large dog. It was in a small magazine shop and he stood by as his unleashed dog put his nose into my grocery bag and then into my crotch.
When I told this guy keep his dog away from me, that he should put a leash on his dog, he insulted me, rudely saying he felt more sorry for his dog. This man clearly views his dog as a person, and from what I have seen of him around the neighborhood, probably his closest companion.
Like Mr. Freedman, I have experienced unwanted encounters with dogs like wet noses on my bare legs and dirty front paws clawing at my clothes.
Dog owners seem oblivious. Their dog is not merely a companion but an extension of their ego. These people need to be reminded that not everyone wishes to have a physical encounter with their precious pups.
Unfortunately when dogs are glorified to the perverse degree that they are nowadays, this concept may be hard to grasp.
TERRY TANNEHILL
New York, N.Y.
‘Ex-President of Iran Is Due To Parley at United Nations’
The question: is Mohammed Khatemi a moderate leader or is he an extremist with a smile as alluded to in The New York Sun’s front page article [“Ex-President of Iran Is Due To Parley at United Nations,” Eli Lake, Monday 28, 2006]?
We can go a long way toward resolving this problem by posing one question to him. Do you agree with Mr. Ahmadinejad’s assertions, that Israel is a fabricated state and should be wiped off the map? It would indeed be preferred that the questioner be a reporter from The New York Sun.
If he answers yes, he agrees then he is no moderate. If he answers no, he disagrees then he “might” be a moderate.
If he answers neither yes nor no, but plays rhetorical games, then we can conclude that he is no moderate.
REUVEN SCHLAKMAN
Brooklyn, N.Y.
