This is not an anti Dear Abby column. I believe that the current "Abby", Jeanne Phillips, answers her readers with the best intentions. However, I don't believe she is fully qualified to answer the full gamut of questions she answers on a daily basis - everything from relationship issues, etiquette, child-raising, interpersonal communications, health and medical issues, employment and career issues, etc.
Her official biography is as follows:
Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. It is the most popular and widely syndicated column in the world -- known for its uncommon common sense and youthful perspective.
In other words, she more or less inherited the world's most popular column from her mother. That it is the world's most popular column can not be attributed to her in any way. Even if she were to dispense regular horrible advice (which I assert she does), no one would perceive it that way because her credential is the column itself. Many people also assume that anything in print is true. It is not.
We don't know if Jeanne is college educated, whether she has ever been employed, whether she has any training in psychology or counseling or anything other than being in the right place at the right time. I do not want to claim that I am the MOST qualified to hold her position, but I will say that I believe I am more qualified than her. I have 3 college degrees, have worked at various professions over the years (including teaching and filmmaking), have gone through bad relationships, and have raised two children - one of them disabled. I think I can say that I've been around, but am not so old as to be out of touch.
An interesting assertion in Jeanne's biography is that of "youthful perspective". Let's just say I'm younger than Jeanne Phillips.
You, "dear reader", may also feel more qualified to answer Jeanne's/Abby's letters - either selectively, or all of them. I welcome you to add your own comments to this blog. That's the beauty of internet publication - it's immediately interactive and invites undifferentiated community involvement. Unlike a newspaper column - in which feedback to Abby's advice is published weeks or even months later, at a point when most readers don't remember or care about the original topic.
So let's roll up our sleeves and get started!
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