This is in response to the the article on the front page about the man who offered "his girl" a promise ring and then deleted all of the male contacts from her cell phone. If indeed the response from Mr. Average Guy represents the "norm", then it is a perfect testament to the strength of the patriarchal hold that continues in this culture. Women are not "property" to be "staked out". I don't care how many rings are involved. This attitude is insulting and disrespectful. This man's actions were jealous, manipulative, and controlling, and if the miserable sonofabitch had done it to me, I'd have dumped his *** quicker than you could say "misogynist". We need to stop enabling this kind of thing. Men who think of women as their "property" probably are considered "normal" in this culture, because I can tell you, this attitude is very common. But "common" and "normal" don't mean the same thing as "right". And I think that the gal who asked the question knows this; otherwise she wouldn't have asked the question. Listen to your instincts--they're much smarter than your head--and tell this loser to shove it, sister. There are much better fish in the sea, even if they're rare.