To the editor:
About “Predators are on guard as mom posts girls on Instagram” (front page, February 25):
I just finished reading an article that explores this burgeoning phenomenon in which mothers sometimes post revealing photos of their underage daughters on the social media platform Instagram. They are, in effect, making money by selling images of their daughters.
I found some very disturbing aspects of this practice. These children can be harassed by supervisors and pedophiles. They will have to live with the aftermath of their mother's decisions without understanding the short-term and long-term ramifications. In my opinion this is like child abuse.
The second big concern I had was the lack of any mention of the father. Where are the men while their wives and ex-wives are posting photos? Could all these mothers be single parents? I don't think so.
Stan Feinberg
Wantagh, New York
To the editor:
Mothers are not the only ones who line their daughters' backs with private family pockets. Dean Stockton, who owns a clothing business and also makes money from his Instagram account, says, “So as long as it doesn't hurt anyone, sometimes you have to sacrifice the things of this world to get to where you need to be.'' I have to take advantage of it,'' he was quoted as saying.
Aren't you hurting anyone? Anyone who profits from the pedophile and sex offender epidemic is contributing to a huge evil in our society.
I can't help but think that the daughters of adult account managers are the victims. These young girls and teens are being brought up with distorted and false values, but for what purpose? Money? Celebrity? Are these mothers filling holes in their own hearts to the detriment of their daughters?
Reporters did an excellent job of pointing out the true dangers of this practice and the challenges and obligations that Instagram and other companies must accept as accomplices.
Eileen Q. Powell
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
The author is director of the Adams County Child Advocacy Center.
To the editor:
I don't think I'm alone in finding almost everyone involved in the exploitation of girls on Instagram horrifying. Brands that pay for exploitation. Meta executives were surprised, but they weren't concerned at all. None of these parties seem likely to change this situation.
But I wondered if existing (or strengthened) child labor laws could not be used to prosecute these people. Aren't these children essentially underage workers? Shouldn't juvenile “influencer” status under these circumstances be treated like any other form of labor in which children should be protected?
Stephen Conn
Yellow Springs, Ohio
To the editor:
Like most readers, I read with growing disbelief about the practices of mothers who sell images of their daughters on the Internet. I kept asking myself how I could do this. I finally concluded that despite some lame and selfish expressions of doubt, they simply didn't understand the evil of what they were doing.
What led me to that conclusion was the words of a mother who seemed to express exasperation at the federal employee's comments. “Her mother told everyone to get off Instagram.” “'You're crazy. Get off.' That's what they told us.”
I was stunned by the mother's negative reaction, as the advice was clearly correct and appropriate. Her anger goes a long way toward explaining how these mothers are able to do what they do. They live in a different moral world than we have seen before.
I wonder where this developing amoral world will lead its inhabitants and the rest of us, and the consequences of the actions of those who live in it, even those of us who do not live in it. I'm worried that I'll get it.
To the editor:
Regarding “Mitch McConnell supports President Trump, whom he once criticized” (nytimes.com, March 6):
Now that Senate Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has endorsed Donald Trump's presidential candidacy, the question is whether former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley has similarly dismissed Trump's insults to his intelligence and defamation of the country. The question is whether to place it in Her spouse's official duties, his racial (if not more) innuendos about her ethnicity, and his depraved indifference to the values and norms of our democratic republic.
Or will she, unlike Mr. McConnell, decide that support for Mr. Trump is a bridge too far when it comes to self-respect and the sustainability of the constitutional order?
chuck cutolo
Westbury, New York
A glimpse of lives lost in Gaza
To the editor:
Regarding “People Who Ended Up in Gaza” (front page of March 4th):
The New York Times is a champion of depicting the real people we have lost to violence. I read all the mini-biographies of the souls who died on 9/11 and sometimes cried.
Now we have precious people lost in Gaza. They sound just like us. War is terrifying.
Taddy McAllister
san antonio
To the editor:
As we read the pages containing tragic depictions of the men, women, and children who lost their lives in the Gaza war, we must remember that Hamas is responsible for their deaths.
Hamas began an unprovoked massacre of Israeli civilians on October 7, prompting Israel to respond militarily, hiding among the population and hiding weapons in schools, hospitals, and mosques.
If not for Hamas' atrocities and violations of the Geneva Conventions, all of the people in the photo would still be alive today.
Jeffrey L. Rubenstein
new york
The author is a professor of Hebrew and Jewish studies at New York University.
To the editor:
Community Says No to 'Housing Plan Got Yes' (front page, March 3):
Florence, South Carolina, is not the only city in America where building new housing is unnecessarily difficult. But this appears to be the latest example of a problem plaguing America's housing supply: no-go zones.
As commonly understood, the purpose of zoning is to segregate land uses. But its sordid history reveals that it has often been used by city councils and vocal rioters to do something else: segregate people. These forces manipulate city ordinances to exclude low-income residents, and the obvious result of this exclusion is less supply and more expensive housing. everyone.
Exclusive zoning is not only morally wrong; It is economically counterproductive and increasingly constitutionally questionable. America is in the midst of a housing price crisis. We can break free from the zoning forces that have made it illegal to build affordable housing.
Ali Bargil
miami
The author is a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice, a nonprofit law firm that fights arbitrary zoning regulations across the country.
