Columns

By Phillip Milano Question How did Samoans get so big? I am built like a blacksmith, yet the average Samoan guy makes me look like a runt. — Dan, 21, Latino, Los Angeles Replies I taught a year on Tutuila, five miles from Pago Pago. I took my middle school class to a mall to get matching lava lavas (wraparounds). …

By Phillip Milano Question Why are tattoos on the lower backs of women called tramp stamps? — D., 53, female, Springtown, Texas Replies Because the tattoo is half above the pant line and half below. If the tattoo were completely covered, no one would notice it, and it wouldn’t matter. If it were completely uncovered, people would think “that’s cool” …

By Phillip Milano Question Should all religions have specific days off school and work for their holy days or holidays? — Christy, 20, Tunkhannock, Penn. Replies It seems that would be fair. Why should some religions get their holidays off and not others? But we’d never get anything done if we did it that way. Some holy days are Saturday, …

By Phillip Milano Questions Why do men need to spit so much in public? Anne, Jacksonville Beach What is it with guys and spitting? Cheryl, New Haven, Conn. Replies It’s a macho thing, pure and simple. Aloysius, 37, male, Atlanta I, too, have noticed this a lot. Just yesterday I was stopped at a light and the man in front …

By Phillip Milano Question Do African-Americans sunburn, and if so, how might it be possible to tell? — Jeff S., 31, white, Bremerton, Wash. Replies LOL, yeah, black people do burn. My mom and I are very dark. She burned and didn’t know what was going on. She went through emergency, and they told her she was burned. When I …

By Phillip Milano Question I befriended a paranoid schizophrenic, and he has accused my mother of saying something bad about him. When I protested, he pulled a knife and threatened to stab me. His parents told me he doesn’t take his medication and drinks alcohol, which makes him irrational or violent. Could his psychiatrist be held responsible for his actions? …