Read Gladwell's piece last week, and was immediately struck by how disingenuous it is. His representation of Atticus' approach to the trial has been twisted to fit his thesis. Gladwell suggests that Atticus callously paints Mayella Ewell as "white trash" who was "askin' for it" in hopes that his jury will trade one prejudice for another. In reality, Atticus could not be more respectful and gentle with Mayella – not to mention sympathetic to her circumstances. Despite what Gladwell asserts, Atticus has plenty of evidence that Tom didn't rape Mayella, and he attempts to lay out the scenario for his jury as honestly as possible. Lee makes it clear that any humiliation Atticus must cause Mayella gives him great pain, but he knows that...

Jeffrey, do you really see no (cause-and-effect type) connection between shows like "Gossip Girls" and "real-life sex by a minor that resulted in an unplanned pregnancy"? And do you really think a politician's public love and support of her pregnant teenager is comparable to the marketing of titillating shows like "Gossip Girls" to 12 year old children? It's your post that makes no sense.