I've dealt with people like this before. I used to be a bike courier back in the day and there was an "Opinion" writer just like Fisher who hated us with a passion and suggested all kinds of asinine and ridiculous ways of dealing with the courier "problem." to which she recieved numerous "colourful" responses from couriers that did nothing more than fan the flames of her bullshit.
I haven't read everything about this story, but it seems eerily familiar to me. Going off on someone like this doesn't do anything but reinforce in their tiny little minds that if their comments caused such an uproar, then they must be RIGHT.
I'm not saying I'm the most eloquent writer or speaker in the world, but when that anti-courier hag suggested that we be made to ride in the space between the LRT tracks (subway), that was it for me and I wrote a very intelligent letter which of course never made it to print because I took her to task on all her crap, until I sent a copy of it to the editor and they ran it the next day.
The subject of bike messengers was DROPPED and never written about again. I'm not saying I'm some kind of hero, but my letter prompted a number of other letters from lawyers, architects etc. backing me up in the next day's letters section. Power of the pen indeed.
From what I've gleaned so far, this seems to be the same situation, with this (And I use this term VERY loosely) "Journalist" cherry picking whichever comments she wants, and leaving out the intellectual and logical ones. I'll have to read the whole thing, but stupidity gives me a rash and I'm all out of Calamine lotion, so it might have to wait.
Besides, Greg pretty much summed up my feelings on the subject and has a LOT of good points. Anecdotal evidence is NOT scientific proof, and opinion even less so.
If this... woman had done even a modicum of research she would discover to her horror that indeed there HAVE been peer reviewed studies on children and video games for over a decade, and there is NO mention of anything she suggests: http://www.gamestudies.org/0301/fromme/
This isn't surprising seeing as how she comes from Orange County and obviously has her head firmly wedged up her posterior just like all the other ineffectual soccer moms.
Unfortunately, she's not going away any time soon.
(Edit) As much as I hate to stoop to her level, I think she should be a little more concerned about her cake addiction than anything else. What a hypocrite. If I actually thought it would do any good I'd let her have it, but the point is already way moot.
