Readers Write: ‘Tampon Tim,’ Walz’s military service, vice presidential picks, old documents

Opinion editor’s note: Star Tribune Opinion publishes letters from readers online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

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I have to admit, when I saw the first meme of “Tampon Tim,” I actually thought it was a compliment (”Reality check on the ‘Tampon Tim’ meme,” editorial, Aug. 9). Supplying free menstrual products to Minnesota students is so important to so many students. With 36 years of full-time high school teaching and another 14 years of substitute teaching, I have 49 years of classroom experience with teenagers. When I was teaching full time, I would often be approached by young women seeking help to secure menstrual products. I would sometimes even lend my own, and, once machines were in place that charged money, I would make sure that I had change to provide students with access to them. Even now I admire the bravery of asking a teacher for help like that.

Free menstrual products provide dignity and compassion. One of the best examples of how I’ve seen this play out is at Tri-City United High School in Montgomery, Minn. Each stall in the bathroom has a complete array of menstrual products — each stall! Talk about dignity and compassion.

Teenage years are tough years. As adults we should try our best to show them that we care about them as individuals. I still believe that the “Tampon Tim” label is a compliment.

Carol Ottoson, Prior Lake

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As a high school teacher for the past 19 years, I’m proud of Walz for working to provide free menstrual products in schools. Tampons and pads are essential hygiene products, and there is no shame in taking the lead in making them accessible. “Tampon Tim” is a funny and alliterative nickname for a guy who has shown through his record that he cares about serving people. I expect Walz will laugh about it, and I hope he accepts the title proudly. I know people in Minnesota schools appreciate his efforts.

Joel Olson, St. Francis

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I find it amazing that some Republicans think “Tampon Tim” is a clever put-down for Walz. I well remember being shamed and ridiculed in high school for having the natural body functions of a woman. Normal words like “tampon” were used to embarrass and disgrace.

That was in the 1980s. Thankfully, we don’t live in those days anymore. But the same schoolyard bullies are still out there. And they believe they are fit to run the government.

Please, Republicans, keep showing your true colors. Come November, we’ll know what to do.

Karen de Boer, St. Paul

I read with disgust the hit job on Gov. Tim Walz’s 24 years of honorable service from former President Donald Trump’s campaign, whose standard-bearer has no respect for veterans — saying veterans who died for their country were “suckers” and “losers” and directed that he did not want any disabled veterans in any parade of which he was a part.
This kind of attack is coming from the presidential campaign of a five-time draft dodger who tried to get out of Vietnam service by saying he had a bone spur. He jokingly bragged the biggest danger he faced in the Vietnam War era was getting a venereal disease!

Vance and Walz served honorably, for four years and 24 years, respectively, in noncombat roles in service. Walz had every right to retire anytime after 20 years of service, usually involving months of processing from application to discharge — long before deployment orders were issued. In retirement, he went on to serve in Congress for 12 years, working for veterans on the Veterans Affairs Committee.

The “Great Divider” wants to divide veterans against each other. Don’t let him do it! Honor all veterans who have served in uniform, especially those who have lost their lives or become disabled in service. All who served in uniform deserve better from someone wanting to be commander in chief.

David Thompson, Rosemount

The writer is a retired military officer.

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Does anyone else see the irony of a man who said he wasn’t going to be “stupid” and let himself get drafted and serve in Vietnam being critical of another man who retired after 24 years of service to run for Congress to better serve veterans?

Richard Olson, Brooklyn Park

On Thursday, I was stunned to read a letter in this space from someone complaining that he “can’t support a ticket” with Gov. Tim Walz because he’s too “folksy.” According to the writer, “folksy” politicians are fake and “patronizing” when they “stick on their cowboy hats.” The real work of the world, he says, is not done in a “little house on the prairie” but “sitting down in big offices and conference centers in capital cities.”

Say what? This whole stereotypical rant is flawed on so many levels, I hardly know where to begin. Does Walz normally walk around in a cowboy hat? Does he dress inappropriately at public events? What specifically has been too “folksy”? Why does the letter writer think that Walz is “pretending to be someone [he’s] not”? Why is he “infuriated” by someone who wants to speak to the masses in plain English? Is public discourse supposed to be dull and bureaucratic? Does this person understand that different situations call for different rhetorical approaches? And in the end, aren’t the issues themselves way more important than someone’s style anyway? (I shudder to get his take on Bill Nye the Science Guy, or the late Mr. Rogers, and I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t want to invite him to my next party.)

Most important, being “folksy” does not have to be fraudulent or lacking in substance — far from it. Our world is filled with people who can’t communicate meaningfully with the public and could benefit by trying to make a genuinely human connection. For some time now, there’s been a serious lack of joy in our politics, and although I’d bristle if Walz or anyone else showed up at a rally riding a palomino with a straw in their mouth, I’d encourage this rather uptight critic to simply loosen up. Since when did being authentically sociable and friendly become both unattainable and undesirable?

David Lapakko, Richfield

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Mark Barabak of the Los Angeles Times is dismissive of the role of vice presidential running mates in election campaigns (”Win or lose, the election comes down to Harris, not Walz,” Opinion Exchange, Aug. 8). However important the vice president is in garnering support for the ticket, the significance of vice presidents in our history can’t be denied.

In my lifetime alone, six vice presidents — Harry Truman, Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson, Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush and Joe Biden — have been elevated to the presidency, half of them at the death or resignation of the chief executive.

I envision Vice President Kamala Harris being the seventh to rise, and I applaud her choice of Walz as her running mate.

Kathryn Christenson, St. Peter

I imagine historians and social researchers who read the piece by Todd Nelson are shuddering (”Save this, shred that,” Aug. 5). The loss of history as lived by ordinary citizens is almost legendary. Writers find stories of interesting events and people but no corroborating information. Or they unearth fragments. Anyone downsizing, before shredding, ought to check with their local historical society to determine possible interest.

Carl Brookins, Roseville