To the editor:

As a writer, I pay close attention to the metaphors people choose to describe themselves. In the case of Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, in telling a joke about hockey moms, she has represented herself as a “pit bull with lipstick.” I am sure this reference is meant to garner our respect for her as one tough woman, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. But a pit bull?

By using this reference, Palin is identifying with the pit bull’s stigma as an aggressive attack dog.

In fact, on the day of her acceptance speech, in Sioux City, Iowa, a teenager was attacked by two pit bulls at a bus stop. By no means am I suggesting that Palin would condone this tragic event, but by indirectly referring to herself as a pit bull, I have to wonder how she might behave when dealing with complex global issues.

This is not a black-and-white world, and pit bull diplomacy is not only simplistic, it is dangerous.

I believe that it is important for our leaders to be tough-minded and courageous, while tempered by wisdom and restraint. Barack Obama and Joe Biden offer that kind of leadership. But a candidate who characterizes herself as a pit bull, and a party that celebrates “attack without provocation” is not what America needs.

For 10 years in northern Michigan, I was one of those hockey moms Palin refers to. Although given to occasional bouts of crazed behavior (again, not a good idea in a world leader), I also appreciated the beauty, precision and grace of a cleanly played game. That’s the kind of game most hockey moms want to see played by their children and their leaders. In fact, what angers us most are the pit bull tactics of a back check against the boards that can lead to serious injury. Hockey moms and women in general are better than that, and as Barack Obama has so eloquently said, our country is better than that. Let’s elect leaders who uphold, uplift and inspire us to be the kind of Americans we truly are.

Mary Knight

Langley