I just read Janna Goldstein’s letter to the Editor, the unsigned rebuttal that followed it, and Jay Upton’s column and I’m wondering why Jay and the mysterious rebuttal writer are so offended by Janna’s letter. I read her letter twice and no where did I find the “personal attack” that Jay spoke of in his column. Jay, you say in your column that those of us who “might want to takes shots at [you] as a writer of ideas” should instead “find fault with [your] comparisons . . .” I believe that was what Janna was doing when she called your comparisons “silly.” And you acknowledge that your comparisons are indeed silly, “nonsensical” you call them and you defend them as nonsensical for the purpose of making a point. Why take offense at being called on the use of point-making nonsense? It’s a valid call not a personal attack. A personal attack goes something more along the lines of, “Hey Jay, you suck, your writing sucks, and I’m telling all the anarchists out there that your dad’s a prison guard.” A personal attack could also be something like writing in to say that your quest to have your intellect respected would be better served if you didn’t publish photos of yourself demonstrating your range of stupid expressions. However, a Jewish-American woman who is a student at this university and who feels very strongly about the issues discussed in your last column writing a letter to the editor about your last column, is not a personal attack. Do I need to say that again? Her OPINION is no less worthy of respect than yours. Getting all puffed up about her letter and calling it a personal attack is taking the easy way out of the intellectual exchange she tried to engage you in. And personally, I think it makes you seem like a pussy.

Sincerely, Alissa Johnson