Voices

What happened to individualism and respect?

PUTNEY — I went back to read MacLean Gander's original piece [“From type to stereotype,” Essay, Dec. 5]. I fault the writer, like so many reporters, for casually using statistics, mentioning stereotypes without details - and, more egregiously, both assuming there are agreed-upon stereotypes and going on to lump together all male Trump supporters (without questioning).

What happened to individualism and respect for one another's views? Not everyone with a given trait or belief or orientation or color can be placed in a catch-all basket.

I appreciate that Gerard Cloutier shared his reaction to the original essay with details explaining who he is: an individual, one who refuses to be cast into a narrow mold based on his presidential vote.

“Gender identity” is a lofty term, one I suggest could be replaced by honest honoring of individuals' multiple beliefs, without labels and categories and rancor.

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