An Unfair and Groundless Epithet

To the editor:

When I wrote "The Rhetoric of Equality" and submitted it to The Crimson, I fully anticipated the torrent of insults and disparagement that flooded forth from anonymous online commenters.  However, I was surprised to see the attacks spill over onto the pages of The Crimson itself.  In his op-ed, "The Inevitably of Equality," Saieed Hasnoo refers to "close-minded pundits and politicians" who support traditional marriage, with the phrase "close-minded" set as a hyperlink to my own op-ed.  Clearly, I am one of the "pundits" Mr. Hasnoo has in mind.

His epithet is both groundless and unfair.  I presented a reasoned argument, devoid of any libelous or hateful speech.  In fact, I concluded with an invitation for my opponents in this debate to explain their ideas further, hardly the behavior of a "close-minded pundit."  Unfortunately, Mr. Hasnoo rejected that invitation: not only did he abstain from answering any of the questions I posed to same-sex marriage advocates, but he also failed to address any of my arguments at all.

Marriage is a very significant and contentious issue in our society and on our campus, and it is my hope that more debate on the issue can fill the pages of this newspaper in the future.  However, name-calling is simply counterproductive, as well as antithetical to the mission of an institution of higher learning.  Rigorous academic inquiry should predominate, especially at a university like Harvard, which makes a point of preaching civility.  In the interest of continued debate, I hope advocates of same-sex marriage can do better than Mr. Hasnoo and others' ad hominem barbs.

James P. McGlone '15

Cambridge, Mass.

Vice-President, True Love Revolution