News-Record.com

The "In and Out" list this morning required knowledge of pop culture, a sense of humor and, in some cases, a thick skin. As these things go, then, we got some quick and negative feedback.

Some excerpts of e-mails I've gotten:

When "16 and pregnant" is considered IN, it is no longer fun. It is in fact thoughtless, irresponsible, glamorizes teen pregnancy, and certainly sends the wrong message to families in general and teens specifically.

I cannot share this article with my daughter because it is hard enough to explain why a girl (emphasis on girl, not woman) should not get pregnant, nor should she be experimenting with sex, at 16. It may be a fact of our society that this happens, but that is not the lesson in our family.

Further down your list you write that FedEx is OUT and HondaJet is IN. While this is certainly less harmful than the reference to a pregnant 16 year old, it is an irresponsible comment probably done for cheap shock value. At least the people at FedEx are adults and will recognize the comment for what it is -- one person's uninformed opinion. FedEx will bring many sorely needed jobs and much revenue to the Triad. It may even have influenced, in some way, HondaJet's decision to settle here. To do anything short of welcoming FedEx with open arms is short-sighted and, once again, irresponsible. This goes for any company coming to the Triad.

The "16 and pregnant," obviously referring to the Spears' sisters, came from the original Washington Post list. We added the offensive FedEx-HondaJet item.

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I am Mormon and am very disappointed in what you published on D1 today in the "Out or In" article. I am referring to the second item in the vertical column, which notes that "Mormon undergarments" are "out" and "Spanx" are "in."

I am hurt that you have blasphemed such a private, sacred matter and am disappointed that religious bigotry is alive and well in my hometown newspaper.

This one also came from The Washington Post's original list. I admit I don't even know what Spanx are.

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I see your team couldn't resist another shot at cheering for a move of the tourney to Sedgefield as part of the "In/Out list." Of course, according to their story last week there has been no decision made. I don't really expect your reporters to do much work in digging out facts but it isn’t hard to find out what is going on at Forest Oaks.

Because we continue to track the efforts to move the Wyndham from Forest Oaks to Sedgefield, everytime we write about it we get letters saying that we're biased.

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These lists are designed to engender debate and discussion and maybe a few laughs. They aren't editorial policy, endorsements or words to live by. (I know they aren't all funny. Written word humor is always a matter of taste.) Not surprisingly, Ed gets it and gives the list all the respect it deserves.