To the editor: In the long run, the desperately compensatory masculinity represented by former President Trump is a lost cause. (“Virility 2024: Do the Republicans own it?” column, May 23)
But a mortally wounded animal can still fight fiercely and wreak havoc before dying.
God help us if Trump wins the 2024 election and takes our country with him on the road to burying his discredited brand of masculinity.
John Ibson, Claremont
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To the editor: As a girl, the eldest daughter of three younger brothers, she knew what masculinity meant.
My brothers were easily fooled and interested in things that I didn't care about, like sports and fighting among themselves. When they wanted to know something for sure, they asked me. Even when the boys tried to bully me or even rape me later, I took care of them by discouraging them from doing so.
The first man I respected was Atticus Finch. Unfortunately, fictitious.
A real man doesn't get his money from his father. A real man does not have three or four wives, because they know how to please one.
Please let the election come soon, so I never have to listen to what Trump thinks again. He's a corrupt, bullying weakling, and he folds like a deck of cards when he's facing a scary guy like Vladimir Putin.
Cheryl Clark, Long Beach
