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Levey Live: Speaking Freely
Washington Post Columnist
Tuesday, June 12, 2001; Noon EDT
Due to a last-minute change in plans, Yogi Berra will not be able to join Bob Levey as scheduled for Levey Live on Tuesday, June 11.
Instead, Bob will host two "Levey Live: Speaking Freely" discussions this week. One on Tuesday, June 11, and one as usual on Friday, June 15th at 1 p.m. EDT. The Yogi Berra discussion will be rescheduled for sometime in July.
Levey Live: Speaking Freely is a live, open-agenda discussion offering washingtonpost.com users around the world the opportunity to ask questions and discuss topics of their choice with Bob.
Fearless Bob takes your questions about virtually everything, from sports and politics (there's a difference?) to world events, Metro area traffic and issues raised in Bob's columns.
The transcript follows.
Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control
over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
Bob Levey: Good afternoon, friends, Romans and countrypersons (see how PC a guy can be?). Like you, I was expecting a wondrous dialogue in the coming hour between myself, and you, and that great fracturer of the English language, Yogi Berra. Alas, Yogi couldn't join us at the appointed time. He'll be rescheduled for some time later in the summer. In his absence, we throw open the gates and take on any question and any questioner.....
Washington, D.C.:
Wha' happened to Yogi?
Bob Levey: I wish I could tell you that the Toronto Blue Jays had called him up for their stretch drive. In fact, even though he's in his 70s, Yogi would hit a lot better than some of them Blue Jays I watched on TV last night.
The truth is somewhat less romantic: Yogi had some things to do at the Yogi Berra Museum. They couldn't keep. So we'll have to.
Yes, that gave me whiplash, too.
There's a Yogi Berra Museum?
Indeed so.
Somewhere in New Jersey.
Wonders never cease.
Alexandria, Va.:
Bob --
I don't know who to ask about this, but I figured you'd be a good place!
I just started getting into crossword puzzles and read a recent article about the New York Times crosswords. With the Times puzzles, they start off with the eaisest on Monday and get progressively harder with the toughest being Saturday. (the Sunday puzzle reverts back to about the Thursday-level toughness)
Does a similar thing happen with The Post's puzzles? For a while I thought it did, but recently had some horrible troubles with a Monday puzzle, but completed a Saturday one!
Any idea?
Thanks!
Bob Levey: If there's any such "ramping" of the difficulty in Post puzzles, I'm not aware of it. But I am (painfully) aware of this: any Post puzzle pales beside every Times puzzle. Ours are too easy!
Washington, D.C.:
I read in the article on the U. Street Metro Officer shooting that the U. Street Metro Station has fewer reported crimes than the Rosslyn Metro Station. I would have never thought that, any idea why?
Bob Levey: Fewer people use it
Alexandria, Va.:
I can't believe a metro police person was shot over a metro fare. What a tragedy.
Has a metro police person ever been shot before? Has anyone ever been shot on the metro before?
How do you think DC Metro rates in terms of safety compared to other transit systems around the nation?
Bob Levey: 1) No
2) No
3) To judge from our track record (horrible pun!) across 25 years, it has been superior. However, that doesn't mean there's no crime in our subway. There is. The good news is that it doesn't involve shootings, or grandmothers being pushed into the track beds just as a train is arriving.
Washington, D.C:
Good morning Bob. I just wanted to vent a little bit this morning and I figured this was just the place to do it. I'm noticing more and more that whenever I'm on the metro male riders do not budge to give a pregnant woman a seat. Instead it is my fellow female riders. I know that sometimes people are really tired, but come on. I'm sure if it were their wives they would want someone to get up. Can any of you males out there comment on this?
Bob Levey: I'll ask the menfolk to do so. But let me begin with the comments of this here manfolk.
Men can be really, really oblivious. But they can also be really, really reluctant to offend.
When I last wrote about this issue, the most common question from male readers was, "I'd be glad to give up my seat to a pregnant woman. But how can I be sure she's really pregnant and not just fat? Or (in winter) that she's really pregnant and not just wearing a heavy coat?"
To this, I say (and said): Give up your seat anyway.
But apparently one guy at some moment in time got reamed out by a fattish woman because he assumed she was pregnant. So somehow this means he will never and should never give up a seat to any woman ever again.
We can do better, boys. And we should.
SW Washington, D.C.:
Bob --
As you seem to hold the title of Metro's Biggest Fan, I thought maybe you could answer me, since no one seems willing.
I am constantly frustrated with the long lines that build up behind the farecard readers. I use a smartcard, and find myself waiting behind "traditionalists" fumbling with their paper cards. Why not create a line for smartcards only? much like the tunnels and turnpikes have e-pass? This would encourage people to get the faster cards, and make getting out of crowded stations more efficient.
Any reason this hasn't been done yet?
Bob Levey: No reason that I'm aware of. I think you've got a super idea there. Also an idea that will take care of itself once SmarTrip ridership zooms beyond 20 percent, as it surely will very soon.
Washington, D.C.:
What sayeth the great Bob: 76ers or Lakers?
Bob Levey: Going in, The Great Bob said Lakers in 6. I'm sticking with that. But I do have to say that The Great Iverson is showing us all something. I only hope he holds together. The way the dude plays, he'd better have his hospitalization paid up.
Arlington, Va.:
What are your thoughts on the McVeigh media coverage?
Bob Levey: Much, much savvier and calmer than I expected. It stayed to the good side of bathos, I thought. No goo about little girls being killed. We'd already been there, and it wouldn't have served any purpose to go there again. Not even the networks sinned on the issue of mawkishness. I do think all the coverage could have been more thoughtful on the question of closure, and how difficult it will be for the Oklahoma families to achieve it.
Capitol Hill Phil:
Howdy Bobstar! While Mr. Berra's presence is missed, it's a Deeeeeeeee-light to have you all to ourselves on this muggy day.
On Sunday, our fair city held it's annual Gay Pride parade and festival. Big, well-behaved crowd. Not a WORD in the Post about it (unless I missed it and I don't think I did.). Any clue as to why no one from our Beloved paper was tasked to give it even a paragraph or two of coverage?
Bob Levey: This issue dogs us every single time there's a demonstration for or against any cause.
The real problem is that we have so many demonstrations here. Just because Gay Pride Day turned out thousands, it isn't necessarily news, just as it would not be news if Straight Pride Day turned out an equal cast of thousands. Gathering and munching chicken and listening to speeches just doesn't make editors go weak in the knees--unless of course, something happens (like an exceptional speech, an exceptional turnout, an act of violence).
Long and the short of it: News has to be new. "Just another demonstration" isn't new. Not here, anyway.
Atlanta, Ga.:
What do you think about the whole McVeigh thing? I think we're teaching our kids that the way for CNN to devote days and weeks of coverage on them would be to blow up a building or some such. What is the deal with the media? I think he should have rotted in jail.
Bob Levey: Media coverage isn't a reward to be bestowed or withheld, like a cookie. Every thing McVeigh said, thought, ate or did in his final month was news because the bombing was news. Kids aren't as stupid as you make them out to be. They realize that McVeigh got a lot of face time. But they also realize he got it because he was a very, very bad man. George Bush, Mother Teresa and Madonna get plenty of face time, too. But they would never blow up a building.
Bethesda, Md.:
Bob,
When will all this dwelling on McVeigh ever end? This is EXACTLY what he wanted -- reporters somberly reporting on his every move during the execution, so-serious anchors grimly asking questions of witnesses, hour-long documentaries on the cable "news" channels probing his childhood and recreating that horrible day, and analysts commenting on every imaginable aspect of the whole unhappy affair. Enough already! Bob, please, tell me you won't be adding to the din. There's nothing more to say. Besides, why give Timothy McVeigh what he wanted in death, when he had so little regard for what others wanted from life.
Bob Levey: There's plenty more to say. We are more confused as a society about capital punishment today, not less. Just this morning, I talked to two thoughtful adults who said, "I'm against capital punishment. But gosh, when a guy kills 168 people....." What tangled thinking! Isn't taking one life just as morally reprehensible as taking 168? How can you have one kind of punishment for killing one person and another kind for killing 168?
I agree that McVeigh wanted the ocean of coverage. But we would have been spiting our readers, listeners and viewers if we hadn't provided it. McVeigh created a huge public disaster. That's why we covered it, and continue to cover it. What he wants isn't nearly as important as the effect on lots and lots of people of his actions.
Alexandria, Va.:
I don't get the guy who says he was reamed out by a fattish woman because he assumed she was pregnant. What did he say to her, "Ma'am, would you like this seat since you're pregnant?" Why not just "Ma'am, would you like this seat?" Hard to see that anyone would take offense at that. I think Miss Manners agrees that one does not comment on a stranger's about-to-be maternal status!
Bob Levey: He did say, "Ma'am, please take my seat." She asked if he assumed she was pregnant. He acknowledged it. Whereupon she reamed him out.
Sure, she obviously had big, big problems about her girth. But the effect on the guy was no less real.
Navy Yard:
Bob, I thought the ombudsman's column about how the media in general (especially the Post) did a poor job of covering the leaked, one-sided report on Florida voting was on the ball. Do editors/reporters ever get equal time/space to reply/rebut/explain?
Bob Levey: We do internally, to our heart's content. Do we get equal space in the paper to respond? Occasionally, and only on occasions where we really can march the ball down the field. If it's just a question of crossing Ts and dotting Is, or of rising on grounds of personal privilege, most editors would (and should) say no.
Reston, Va.:
Good afternoon Bob! I'm not sure how I stand on the McVeigh execution. I'm torn between, yes, I'm glad he's gone, but he got off too easily. I feel for the families who lost loved ones, but was killing him really the answer? He got exactly what he wanted. The last work. State Assisted Suicide. How do you feel in general about the death penalty? Does it really help? Does it really work?
Bob Levey: The death penalty never works as social medicine, and it never will. If it was intended to prevent Murder No. Two, it has obviously failed thousands of times over.
I would have preferred to see him imprisoned for life, so that every year, on the anniversary of the bombing. there'd be an avalanche of Where Is He Now pieces. That might give McVeigh a contuining megaphone. But I think it would have the opposite effect. It would remind ordinary citizens that terrorists are out there, that the system works, that you can't and won't get away with it.
Bethesda, Md.:
How about the Colorado Avalanche winning the Stanley Cup the other night! 22 year NHL veteran (and first ballot hall of famer) Ray Bourque will get his name on the Stanley Cup finally. Game seven wasn't the greatest game of all time, but it was nice seeing my adopted team win the Cup and thus finish up my first Stanley Cup Campaign for Children's Hospital. (Next year the Caps will win it!)
I picked the Av's for several reasons: My Aunt and Uncle are moving to Colorado soon. I like their style of play and I have a favorite player, Chris Drury, who plays for them. Sports fans may remember Drury. He pitched his team to the Little League World Series several years ago in the late '80's.
Anyway, the check will be cut tonight when I get home and Bob, I hope you take your son to one Caps game next year. Deal?
Bob Levey: Deal (although Young Levey has become as fervent a hockey-hater as his old man)
Arlington, Va.:
The question on deference to pregnant women reminded me of yesterday's article printed in Dr. Gridlock's column. A reader had written that they would never yield their seat to a pregnant woman. In the reader's opinion, pregnancy was like wearing high heels - a choice that the pregnant woman makes consciously and therefore must live with. If you're pregnant and need to sit, you should have thought of that first, just like if you choose to wear high heels, you have to live with the pain of pinched feet. If there are no seats on metro - tough luck. That able-bodied reader was not giving up their seat (even in the handicap section).
Surprisingly, this narrow-minded view came from a woman! Obviously, one that is too young to think about children or empathy for a fellow human being. All I can say is that I hope she one day "chooses" to have children and is refused a seat on the metro because of her "choice."
Sign me,
Sympathetic husband with expecting wife.
Bob Levey: And here I said that men are tough on women! Sheesh!
it's not 1:00 yet!:
Are you on early?
I have to admit I got tired of hearing about McVeigh in his final hours. I thought too much was being made of pretty much nothing. State-sanctioned murder was being put on display for all the world to see. I don't know why any media were there anyway because they couldn't see anything! I just wanted them to put a bullet in his head and get it over with. Does anyone remember Karla Faye Tucker in Texas a few years ago? Everyone threw a fit when she was executed because she found God. The one decent thing McVeigh did was to end his appeal process early and not drag on death row for the next 10 years. I don't know why we allow death row types such leniency. Although I do feel for McVeigh's family. His parents never dreamed that their sweet little boy would grow up to become this.
Bob Levey: I just read the tick-tock, second-by-second, eyewitness coverage of the execution in USA Today--right down to where he looked at the last second and what color his skin turned when they gave him the third and final drug. Much, much more than I wanted to know.
We allow death row types such leniency because the penalty is so heavy. They, more than anyone, deserve the full range of appeals. In McVeigh's case, this had an especially political purpose. It showed that the government he claims to have detested is actually capable of delivering the due process it says it will deliver.
Arlington, Va.
about being pregnant on Metro: I was about five months along in the middle of winter, so I was showing in spite of my wool coat. I was crammed on an Orange line train, standing of course, and between Courthouse and Rosslyn, and the heat in the train became so unbearable I nearly fainted. My husband was standing next to me, so he caught me. It was only after I was on the floor trying desparately to stay conscious that the middle-aged white guy decided to give up his seat. I took the seat, but we opted to get off the train at Rosslyn so I could get some air.
The worst offenders are the middle aged guys, with young guys a close second. In my last three months, when I was as wide as I am tall -- no question of fat here -- I had a big ball on my middle -- it was the women who immediately stood up, although a handful of men actually gave up their seat.
Next time I'm pregnant, I'm avoiding Metro.
Bob Levey: Wrong!
Next time you're pregnant, speak up! We malefolk are not all a bunch of bozoes absorbed in the sports section. Just nudge us a little, verbally. We will respond (most of us, anyway).
Washington, D.C.:
Hm. Ok, I'm a woman. And I don't see why pg means you automatically get a seat, anymore than I understand why woman means you automatically get a seat.
Face it Bob, rather than creating special case after special case to deal with every single possible condition that a person might face in their life, we need to practice courtesy towards ALL. Make common courtesy common again. Keep our backpacks out of the aisle, sit in the space alloted, and offer our seats to those who need them more than we do. Not keep score - "she's pg, so she can sit." "He's a man, so even though he's old/recovering from surgery/exhausted, he MUST stand." No, we need to be polite and considerate to each other, not follow a list of criteria.
Bob Levey: Yes, well said. A seat to anyone who needs one, regardless of whether pregnancy or lumbago causes the need.
Reston, 20190:
I learned how to touch type on a manual typewriter. I'm a computer programmer and touch typing is a rare skill in this field. As are spelling and grammar. Having learned on a manual I tend to really pound on the keys, which does serious damage to computer keyboards. Takes about a year for me to beat one to death.
I have two complaints about keyboards. One is the dAMNED CAPS LOCK key. The other is that the placement of - and - are not standardized. I use those all the time, and every time I get a new keyboard I have to re-learn their placement.
Bob Levey: I've got another one for you.
The keys on computer keyboards are too %$%$$ close together.
Since I fly so fast, I tend to hit two or three keys when all I want to hit is one.
For example, I sometimes type my name as "Bob Levreyt" because the "r" and the "e" and the "y" and the "t" are so close to one another.
And no, this isn't a case of Fat Fingers. My Royal manual handled my two-fingered style just fine.
Re: metro seats:
As a frequent metro rider (and a single healthy female), I often offer my seat to someone who looks like he or she needs it -- someone with a lot of bags, a person with a young child in tow, a senior citizen, a pregnant woman. If the person accepts my offer, great. We're both happy. If the person declines, at least I feel good that I made the offer. I never understand when people get offended. A smile and "no thanks" will do. There are too many other things in the world to get annoyed about... why bother about something so miniscule? People need to get a life!
Bob Levey: It ain't minuscule if you're pregnant!
Reston, Va:
Re: the pregnant woman with the gripe in Dr. Gridlock's column ... I jumped for joy when I read the response from the woman who stated that pregnancy (and high heels) are a choice. As a young female, I'd be much more likely to give up me seat for the elderly (not a choice) or the handicapped (again not a choice) before I'd stand for some woman who chose to become pregnant. Why the special treatment?
Bob Levey: Are you for real?
Because pregnancy can add 40 pounds to your weight.
Because it can cause serious swelling in the ankles and calves.
Because it can make you far more fatigued than you'd be if you weren't pregnant.
Because we were all babies once.
Pregnancy is a choice, sure. But it isn't a meaningless choice, like wearing a black coat today instead of a purple one. That's a human being in that oven!
Petworth:
Oh (obscenity deleted)! Men on metro and bus are not a bunch of bozos? Humph. Is that why so many of them take up multiple seats, either with their briefcases or sitting with their legs splayed in front of them, refusing to acknowledge a polite "excuse me?" Is that why so many of them sit on the aisle, and won't allow anyone to get to the inside seat? Is that why so many of them hit me with their paper, or their backpack, or their briefcase, never noticing I am there?
Men are socialized to believe that they are entitled to all that space, and so, they TAKE all that space.
Bob Levey: The way to fight back is to fight back. If they're trying to "take all that space," ask them to move that briefcase so you can sit down. What you're doing is cursing the darkness.
Arlington, Va.:
Hello Bob -
While you were discussing courtesy to fellow commuters, I'd like to put a thought out there for your readers who drive in the metro area. Please, please be courteous to pedestrians. I walk to Georgetown every day form Arlington, and without fail I nearly get hit at one intersection or another (and I only walk at the proper time and places). I know that everyone is in a hurry in the morning, but pleae wait the few seconds that it takes me to walk across the street before you start - or don't run that red light - and please, don't beep at me, I am by no means a slow walker and I don't appreciate it. Thanks!
Bob Levey: Right you are. It's especially bad at right-on-red corners. Motorists will glide right up to the intersection and make that right turn as if they have the right of way! In fact, pedestrians do. Right-on-redders have to STOP before making that right. As usual, no cop is ever around to see this.
Arlington, Va.:
Bob, I agree with you. I'm very much against capital punishment. I think prison is a much worse punishment than death for someone like McVeigh, anyway.
We gain nothing as a society by putting someone to death. It makes no sense to me.
I've heard others argue that they don't want their tax dollars going to support a prisoner for 40 years--that they'd rather have him executed. However, I remembering reading somewhere that executing a man actually costs MORE than life imprisonment, because the extensive legal process they must go through is so hugely expensive.
Bob Levey: I'm not sure which is more expensive, but I can't care all that much about feeding a man for 40 years--especially if keeping him alive helps remind the society of his horrible deeds. My fear is that McVeigh will now be forgotten more quickly than he would have been.
Re: metro seats again:
No Bob, you misunderstood what I said. When I said "why get so upset about something so miniscule" I meant the people who take offense when I offer them a seat. If they don't want it, fine. No need to get all huffy. I'm just trying to be a mensch.
Bob Levey: Sorry for swinging and missing (I've got Yogi on the brain, don't I?).
Washington, DC:
Bob,
Regarding being chewed out for giving up your seat. I know this is true, since it happened to me.
I had just moved here from the Deep South, was on the 13B to the Pentagon, and by the time we got to the 22nd St. pickup every seat on the bus was taken.
There were some gentlemen getting on before the ladies so I waited until the first lady was approaching my seat to offer it to the first lady. (my mother raised me right but if I can stand then so can some 30yr old male yuppie!)
She wasn't fat, pregnant, or anything out of the ordinary. I got up, quietly offered my seat to her - "Maam, you can have this seat here." - and shuffled a few steps back to join the others already standing.
What then came out of this lady's mouth would have gotten me slapped by my mother and my mouth washed out by my grandmother.
She didn't sit, and neither did I.
Do I still give up my seat. Of course, just because I've lived up here for 2 years don't mean I've forgotten everything my Southern parents taught me.
To the men out there (who are able to) I say get up off your lazy duffs and give up your seat to the ladies, no matter if they're pregnant, old, fat, whatever. Everytime I do I immediately know who the better man is on that bus/metro car. And the compliments I've gotten have really made my day.
Bob Levey: Way to go! Politeness is always the right move, even if it isn't received in the proper spirit. Keep on getting up!
Metro:
I know you are just a Metro fan, so am I, but I've got to tell you this story. Last Wednesday I was on the Orange line to Dunn Loring and noticed something interesitng. The train operator reminded passengers to let others get out of the train, move to the middle, stay away from the train because it is closing, etc. . Things that adult passengers still need to be reminded. The results were that, although it was very crowded, everything was in great order. He was more like a captain than an operator. It was quite refreshing.
Bob Levey: All operators are under orders to do it. But many sound bored by the announcement they're making. So the doorway-blockers don't think they have to care. You think all operators need a little speech training, so they can add a little "sock" to these announcements? It might be money well spent.
Laurel, Md.:
Just wondering: if you hate hockey as much as you profess to do, why did you have Ted Leonsis on as a guest earlier this year? If you're a hockey-hater, Ted shouldn't have even been on your radar.
Bob Levey: We talked about many, many subjects other than hockey, And can't I hate hate hockey without hating Ted Leonsis?
Va. to D.C.:
I've offered, and relinquished, my seat on several occasions to people on the metro who looked like they needed to sit down - for whatever reason. I don't think it has anything to do with me being a woman, it has more to do with the fact that I'm actually looking around. I like to people-watch. Most people aren't looking - they are reading, or staring at their hands, or listening to music - sometimes a nudge is all you need. You definitely need at least eye contact. Most people are oblivious to their fellow riders.
Bob Levey: I wonder if they're as oblivious as they'd like to appear. After all, they're sitting in a crowded, lurching, noisy subway car. They're not sitting in a monk's study. So can they honestly say that they're so deeply engrossed in a book that they didn't notice someone right next to them?
Washington, D.C.:
Bob,
I walk to work too, from Dupont Circle to Downtown, and my biggest pet peeve is the unnecessary honking. If someone takes a nano-second too long to leave an intersection when the light changes, it seems people will just start leaning on their horns. I hate having my beautiful and healthy walk to work ruined by constant (and I mean constant) honking at major intersections.
Bob Levey: Technically, honking is against the law. I owe you lunch the next time you see a cop write a ticket for it
Pedestrian Issues::
Bob, 18th & M is one of the least pedestrian friendly intersections on this planet! Pedestrians always have to yield or they would get hit because cars keep turning left from M street, even when the signal is on and I am already in teh middle. I, and many other pedestrians have had to back up so that whoever in those cars could make that left turn. And it's just a small intersection, Bob. Do you think it's being uncivil or poor design of the intersection here?
Bob Levey: You can't mean 18th and M, because you can't turn left onto 18th from M. 18th is one-way north and M is one-way west. Do you mean 19th and M? If so, I've seen what you describe. These motorized fools want to save a second and a half. Not worth it
Rockville, Md.:
I'm all for politeness, Bob. But..why does a healthy, 30-year-old woman have any more claim to a seat on the Metro than a 30-year-old man? Women say they want to be treated as equals, right? So why is it rude to let them stand? The line of reasoning some people here have espoused would have ALL men standing on the Metro and ALL women sitting. Why is that fair?
Bob Levey: See my previous answer. Because a 30-year-old man cannot possibly suffer the way a 30-year-old pregnant woman can (and will) suffer
WASHINGTON,D.C.:
IN REPONSE TO WASHINGTON, D.C. WHO ASKED WHY DOES BEING PREGNANT AUTOMATICALLY MEAN THAT THEY SHOULD BE GIVEN A SEAT. FOR THE REASON THAT SHE STATED IN HER RESPONSE,COMMON COURTESY.
Bob Levey: Another problem with computer keyboards:
The cap lock KEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY
Choices:
Fer cryin' out loud. There's a difference between choosing to wear high heels because it makes your legs look sexy and choosing to undergo nine months of physical metamorphosis because you want to bring a human being into the world.
Do I think pregnant women should be deified as sacred, self-sacrificing vessels? Uh, not really. Do I think they deserve a break once in a while? Sure -- just as I think anyone who looks tired or in need of a seat should have it.
Bob Levey: Amen. Perfectly said. Thanks
Alexandria, Va.:
Chivalry is dead.
Bob Levey: I'd call it endangered, not dead. But as the previous poster noted, it's not just about being kind to damsels in distress. It's about giving people a break to the extent that they need one. Example: I'm a pretty robust guy, six feet tall, in reasonably good shape for a guy old enough to be a grandfather. But when I injured my foot in a softball game and had to use a special "boot," lots of people offered me seats in the subway. And I took them!
Reston, 20190:
Bob, did you catch Joels piece on McVeigh yesterday? Very well done. I didn't know he could do straight commentary.
Bob Levey: Joel does everything very, very well. A shining talent
Somewhere, USA:
Bob - My husband takes the metro every single morning/afternoon. He is always the first to give up a seat, stand to the side, whatever it takes to make someone else happy, pregnant or not. He said just yesterday, while coming home, he offered his seat to a pregnant woman whose response was "I'm not a child, I can stand". Kinda makes you wonder, huh?
Bob Levey: Some people are just pills, I guess.
Fredneck, Md.:
I agree with the eloquent post that people ought to be courteous no matter what, but I still get peeved with the whining "I need special treatment" of the preggos and women with small children. The best illustration is the special Mommy parking spaces. If you can't afford 'em, can't manage 'em, need special treatment....DON'T HAVE THEM!!!!!
Bob Levey: The whole point about the seats on the Metro that face in is that they belong to people who need special treatment. Why are we surprised when these people ask to exercise those rights?
Arlington, Va.:
Thank you Petworth! As a woman, I've noticed many men, especially in DC, just as this poster described. It happens at the cafe order counter, the commuter trains, you name it. I finally got tired of being crowded & elbowed out by these usually large, taller guys & started elbowing back. They looked at me like they'd never even noticed I was there! But they moved out of the way.
Bob Levey: Rule One: Stand up for yourself
Bowie, Md.:
RE: Letting passengers off Metro first
Always did until two weeks ago. (Actually haven't ridden it since). Because I was standing off to one side of the car door when a big crowd came down the escalator and walked onto the train, IT LEFT WITHOUT ME!
Bob Levey: Wow. Very rare. Next time, pay a little closer attention to that first "bong." If you're within three feet or so of the door when the first "bong" hits, you can usually squeeze aboard before the doors close.
Arlington, Va.:
In line at the grocery store one day, the guy behind tapped me on the shoulder and asked if he could go ahead of me. He looked awful--pale skin, red runny nose, etc.--and was buying cold medicine and tissues. Of course I let him go, but I wouldn't have even noticed that he was sick if he hadn't talked to me. So sometimes people are oblivious, and other times they're faking. Call them on it.
Bob Levey: Right from top to bottom. Ask for help if you need it. Offer it if it's needed.
Washington, D.C.:
Bob,
I noticed that your send a kid to camp campaign is back in full swing. I was wondering, as someone who does not have a lot of money to give (I do volunteer time), is there any way to contribute old summer clothes or sports equipment I no longer use to the camp?
Bob Levey: Sure. Call 202-289-1510 and ask for the camping office. They'll tell you what they need and don't need. One potential problem with the goods you describe: A little equipment or a little clothing doesn't do them that much good. More of either or both would.
New York, N.Y.:
Bob, you've opened up a whole can of worms with the "pregnancy is a choice" discussion. There are a whole lot of people in this country who believe very firmly it IS a choice, and not a particularly praiseworthy one in view of overpopulation and the idea that (upper-middle class) parents claim tax benefits, time off (which others must cover), etc. They believe that people who choose to become pregnant must accept every hardship that comes with that, and that parents nowadays expect everyone else to carry the slack for them.
Food for thought...I will say, I get annoyed when parents (or anyone) -expects- anything. I have definitely given up my seat for pregnant women and will continue to do so but I thought that letter to Dr. Gridlock was a bit much.
33-year-old healthy woman
Bob Levey: Having been through two pregnancies with Jane the Perpetual Trophy Wife, I have never lost the radicalization that I felt then. These are women who are bold enough to want to extend civilzation, gang! Can't we look up from our crossword puzzles long enough to see (and to respect) that?
Washington, D.C.:
Before anyone gives too much credence to what the woman in Dr. Gridlock's column said yesterday about pregnancy and metro - consider the source!! A simple search on yahoo.com for her name and locality shows that she is a member of the "The Society for the Prevention of Childbirth," some sort of weirdo organization opposed to reproduction. So, consider the source. 'nuff said.
Bob Levey: Thanks for shedding this light
wiredog:
Rockville seemed to object to all men standing and all women sitting on Metro. It's called "being a gentleman". Sigh.
Ever had Miss Manners as a guest?
Bob Levey: Never have had her as a guest. Great idea. It goes right into the "some day" file.
Washington,D.C.:
Bob, Gay Pride Day is a celebration, not a demonstration. Seems to me the Metro section should have at least a picture with a quote, given that it's supposed to be covering what's happening within DC. The Post gets knocked for it's inadequate (being nice here) coverage of what's happening in town. It's been lousy ever since the Evening Star folded. Missing stories like this is one reason why, IMHO.
Bob Levey: Fair point, and a picture-with-cutlines is a frequent way to handle events such as this. But every story competes with every other story for space every day. Same with every picture. You can never argue that an event "deserves" a certain number of column inches according to some absolute scale, because there is never a day when an absolute scale applies.
sigh:
In your list about the effects of pregnancy you left out:
changes in blood pressure
change in balance (or lack of)
both potentially dangerous. Some women consider the risk worth it. The "young female" from Reston just demonstrated her ignorance.
Bob Levey: And how about morning sickness? I've never had it (obviously). But from what Miss Jane told me, sitting down would be far more comfortable when you're having the whoopsies than standing up.
Washington, D.C.:
Honking is against the law? Is that only in the District? Being from Philly, I've never heard of that. Is that law along the lines of the noise laws in VA, where ice cream trucks can't ring bells or play music to solicit customers?
Bob Levey: Honking is against the law in every jurisidiction in the D.C. area
Bethesda, Md.:
Bob,
Am I evil because my job is nowhere near any kind of public transportation and therefore I must drive my car to work?
Bob Levey: As long as you give pregnant women a seat in your car, you're not evil.
Washington, D.C.:
One thing I wanted to ask Yogi but I'll ask you instead:
Is it really not over until it's over?
Bob Levey: It is truly not over until it's over.
And guess what, Levey Live fans?
It's now over.
Thanks for joining us. Please do the same next Tuesday, June 19, when our guest will be H. Patrick Swygert, president of Howard University.
washingtonpost.com:
Thanks to everyone who joined the discussion.
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