# Did you guys see the Dear Abbey from the other day? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 23, 2006, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-guys-see-the-dear-abbey-from-the-other-day/353865 "2006-04-23T16:51:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2006, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-guys-see-the-dear-abbey-from-the-other-day/353865/41 "2006-04-24T01:05:06Z")
Since someone’s already mentioned Dobson’s advice that boys shower with their dads to keep them straight, I’ll fire at this one… [QUOTE=Guinastasia] Huh. I wonder if someone here would be willing to send a phony letter in and see if she prints it? [/QUOTE] This already happened at least once. Someone sent in a letter to Abby about her insensitive, bowling-loving husband buying her a bowling ball for her birthday. Out of spite, she decided to use “her” present and go bowling. She fell in love with a handsome bowling instructor. Now what should she do? Abby’s advice: admit your misdoing to your husband. To win you back, he may be willing to change back to the man who bowled you over in the first place. (Her bad pun, not mine.) However, very few (if any) papers ran this column- Universal Press Syndicate pulled it after someone there realized the story sounded suspiciously like an old _Simpsons_ episode. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2006, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-guys-see-the-dear-abbey-from-the-other-day/353865/42 "2006-04-24T01:08:34Z")
[QUOTE=Ensign Edison] Nothing makes a person “more prone” to homosexuality. What an odd way to put it. [/QUOTE] Guin was spot-on. I know there’s nothing that will influence a person’s sexuality; they are what they are. My point was that, to the extent that anything does influence sexuality, it would seem counterintuitive to expose a boy to male genitalia, especially to the exclusion of female genitalia. Robin ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2006, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-guys-see-the-dear-abbey-from-the-other-day/353865/43 "2006-04-24T01:17:30Z")
[QUOTE=Frank] I was doing OK until the pile of beer cans buried the telephone, so now I can’t call for food anymore. I figure I’ve about a week left. I’m hoping the pizza place (or the Chinese place) calls the police and does a welfare check on me (Officer, he hasn’t ordered for two weeks!), or else I’m doomed. [/QUOTE] I never knew you enjoyed Coors [so much](http://www.damnfunnypictures.com/html/The-Single-Life.html), Frank. _Ads may be nsfw_ ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2006, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-guys-see-the-dear-abbey-from-the-other-day/353865/44 "2006-04-24T02:03:11Z")
[QUOTE=Frank] I was doing OK until the pile of beer cans buried the telephone, so now I can’t call for food anymore. I figure I’ve about a week left. I’m hoping the pizza place (or the Chinese place) calls the police and does a welfare check on me (Officer, he hasn’t ordered for two weeks!), or else I’m doomed. [/QUOTE] Pssst - you can order pizza _online_ now, you know. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2006, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-guys-see-the-dear-abbey-from-the-other-day/353865/45 "2006-04-24T02:22:57Z")
[QUOTE=mobo85] This already happened at least once. Someone sent in a letter to Abby…Universal Press Syndicate pulled it after someone there realized the story sounded suspiciously like an old _Simpsons_ episode. [/QUOTE] Would it be unethical to have a contest to see who can get their bogus Dear Abby letter published first? ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2006, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-guys-see-the-dear-abbey-from-the-other-day/353865/46 "2006-04-24T02:30:42Z")
[QUOTE=Loopydude] Would it be unethical to have a contest to see who can get their bogus Dear Abby letter published first? [/QUOTE] I think we should make it bogus Simpsons Dear Abby letters. With 375 episodes or so, there’s got to be enough in there to eventually get one past Universal Press Syndicate. We’ll just pull it from one of the recent seasons that nobody likes. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2006, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-guys-see-the-dear-abbey-from-the-other-day/353865/47 "2006-04-24T02:36:13Z")
Excellent. Allows the hoax to be easily verified as such, and adds a satisfying layer of extra mischief to the deceit. Well done. ---
**Author:** ![Mince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Mince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mince)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2006, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-guys-see-the-dear-abbey-from-the-other-day/353865/48 "2006-04-24T03:19:41Z")
[QUOTE=mobo85] This already happened at least once. Someone sent in a letter to Abby about her insensitive, bowling-loving husband buying her a bowling ball for her birthday. Out of spite, she decided to use “her” present and go bowling. She fell in love with a handsome bowling instructor. Now what should she do? Abby’s advice: admit your misdoing to your husband. To win you back, he may be willing to change back to the man who bowled you over in the first place. (Her bad pun, not mine.) However, very few (if any) papers ran this column- Universal Press Syndicate pulled it after someone there realized the story sounded suspiciously like an old _Simpsons_ episode. [/QUOTE] > **[snpp.com - Domain for sale | VM](https://snpp.com/)** > > This domain is for sale. Buy it on VM or contact the owner. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2006, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-guys-see-the-dear-abbey-from-the-other-day/353865/49 "2006-04-24T03:46:30Z")
[QUOTE=Zsofia] Pssst - you can order pizza _online_ now, you know. [/QUOTE] I’m saved! All I have to do is make a path to the door. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2006, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-guys-see-the-dear-abbey-from-the-other-day/353865/50 "2006-04-24T04:32:52Z")
[QUOTE=Frank] All I have to do is make a path to the door. [/QUOTE] Or a window, or the chimney would do in a pinch. ---
**Author:** ![Stillwell\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@Stillwell\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stillwell_Angel)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2006, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-guys-see-the-dear-abbey-from-the-other-day/353865/51 "2006-04-24T10:59:35Z")
I’m still trying to figure out how to break the news to my husband that he’s gay… ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2006, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-guys-see-the-dear-abbey-from-the-other-day/353865/52 "2006-04-24T11:04:49Z")
I hate housework too. Can I be a lesbian? ---
**Author:** ![Corrvin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bbce88/32.png) [@Corrvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corrvin)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2006, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-guys-see-the-dear-abbey-from-the-other-day/353865/53 "2006-04-24T11:42:16Z")
[QUOTE=Johanna] I hate housework too. Can I be a lesbian? [/QUOTE] What, again? You were one last time! _I_ want to be the lesbian! ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2006, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-guys-see-the-dear-abbey-from-the-other-day/353865/54 "2006-04-24T11:44:30Z")
[QUOTE=Otto] Sadly, fake or not, there are innumerable parents out there who are truly that rock-stupid. I mean, someone’s buying the books from a man who endorses the idea of [fathers showering with their sons to be sure that the sons see penises](http://www.family.org/docstudy/newsletters/a0021043.cfm) as a way to _prevent_ homosexuality, so if it’s not “Worried Mom” it’s people just as idiotic. As for Dobson himself, I heartily recommend _James Dobson’s War on America_ by Gil Alexander-Moegerle. Gil was a co-founder of Focus on the Family, the co-host of Dobson’s radio show and a member of the board of directors before Dobson turned on him and forced him out. Certainly he has a bit of an axe to grind, which he acknowledges in the book, but it’s still the first and AFAIK only look at FoF from the inside. [/QUOTE] Wow!! Checked out the link. The guy is a real case. Interesting and scary the way he weaves his crap in there as if it’s all scientifically researched and factual. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2006, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-guys-see-the-dear-abbey-from-the-other-day/353865/55 "2006-04-24T12:13:43Z")
[QUOTE=MsRobyn] Guin was spot-on. I know there’s nothing that will influence a person’s sexuality; they are what they are. Robin [/QUOTE] I’m not sure I agree with this. I had a friend years ago who lived much of his adult life being rejected by woman and eventually sought comfort and companionship in the gay community. What about Anne Heche? In the messed up society we have it’s hard to tell how much environment and societal pressures play a role but I think that someone who might otherwise be straight can be emotionally wounded by the opposite gender to such an extent that they seek comfort, emotional support and sex from the same gender. I think the two extremes of “being gay is a choice and something you can be cured of” and “all gay people are born gay” are incorrect. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2006, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-guys-see-the-dear-abbey-from-the-other-day/353865/56 "2006-04-24T13:48:09Z")
[QUOTE=t-bonham@scc.net] Personally, I thought the response from Dear Abby was pretty lame. [/QUOTE] I don’t. She’s not a hard-hitting reporter, nor a major radical social reformer, nor a gay-rights activist. She’s the most well-established white bread flavorless advice columnist alive(?) today. It’s her job to dispense sound if bland advice that does not seriously offend Middle America. Can we really expect anything more of her? ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2006, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-guys-see-the-dear-abbey-from-the-other-day/353865/57 "2006-04-24T14:25:51Z")
[QUOTE=cosmosdan] What about Anne Heche? [/QUOTE] I don’t think Anne Heche can be used as an example of anything except how much it sucks to miss the shuttle back to the mothership. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2006, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-guys-see-the-dear-abbey-from-the-other-day/353865/58 "2006-04-24T15:00:13Z")
I suspect that the letter is a hoax. I recall that Dear Abby or Ann Landers has fallen for such hoaxes before. ---
**Author:** ![moonstarssun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@moonstarssun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moonstarssun)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2006, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-guys-see-the-dear-abbey-from-the-other-day/353865/59 "2006-04-24T20:10:40Z")
I’m trying to figure out what Mr. m will be more upset by–finding out he’s gay or finding out I’m a lesbian. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Weird\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@The\_Weird\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Weird_One)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2006, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-guys-see-the-dear-abbey-from-the-other-day/353865/60 "2006-04-24T20:54:20Z")
Wait, I think she may be on to something here. I love to cook, but I hate housework – and I’m bisexual! It works! :wally [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-guys-see-the-dear-abbey-from-the-other-day/353865.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-guys-see-the-dear-abbey-from-the-other-day/353865.md?page=4)