Letters to the Editor

For HumanistNetworkNews.org
Dec. 9, 2009

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Sancho!

(Re: Ask Richard: How Should a Humanist Respond to a Sneeze?, Humanist Network News, Dec. 2, 2009.)

I have many Latino friends from several countries, and there is a ubiquitous trio of sayings when someone sneezes. One sneeze gets a "salud" (which means "health") and a second sneeze gets a "revolution" (obvious translation), but a third sneeze gets a "Sancho!" ("Sancha" for a woman who sneezes).

Sancho is the unseen guy who is hitting on your wife/girlfriend at the time you sneeze!  Rather than affirming superstitions, this playful custom seems to deride superstition in a humorous way that helps to show its absurdity.

–Andrew Viceroy, Portland, Ore.

(Re: "No God, No Problem!"—Humanist Network News, Dec. 2, 2009.)

The idea to use a reminder of a line from a popular song is brilliant. Every time I look at that advertisement, I sing along in my mind. So,  I look again. And even when I'm not looking, it still goes on in my head– thanks to the music.

It could become a theme of these ads–to evoke the tunes of popular secular songs by using suitable references to them. The slogans would then have more impact than isolated statements.

Keeping them bright and inoffensive is the way to go. Making them appealing to children and linking them to the seasons is also good. Here's to more creativity!

–Maia, New Zealand