First, I agree with Xander Gordon (“Kirby Mansplains”, Jan. 27) that Robert Kirby blew it on his take about Dr. Jill Biden. These titles are bestowed for good reasons. Although many who have earned them choose not to be public about it, in Dr. Biden’s case its use makes some sense to counter a traditional societal tendency to ignore the often intellectual gravitas of the spouse of a political office holder.
That said, Gordon then eviscerates his point with the malice he appends to the note on Kirby’s career and person as a whole. Kirby, through humor and frequent self-deprecation, and even more frequent insight into the human condition, has been a very important part of why I and many others read The Tribune. He doesn’t always get it right, but he is never vindictive and in all of his work I have read has never expressed malice except to those rare individuals who hurt the innocent.
There are people in the public domain who, through consistent poor and boorish words and behavior, may deserve Gordon-style criticism. Robert Kirby is not one of them.
And please, anyone who uses the word “mansplain” anymore deserves the eyerolls it gets.
Don Wilhelmsen, Draper