To: Those Sentinel Fan People, Especially those Angsty Ones

From: Naomi Sandburg, Mother of Blair Sandburg

I know most of you don't think a whole lot of me. You

think I was not a good mother. You think I didn't do a good

job of taking care of and raising my son. Well, I want to

tell you, I did. I mean, look how well he's turned out.

He's a good man. He's kind and compassionate and tolerant.

He's a very caring and devoted friend. And now, since that

Sentinel fiasco, he's working at a job that (I now

understand) gives him the opportunity to help people.

I think you'll all agree that my Blair is a good

man. Well, I couldn't have done too bad of a job raising

him, could I? Maybe I wasn't always as attentive as I could

have been, but I was a single mother and I had a lot on my

mind. I did have to earn a living, you know, and I wasn't

exactly skilled at anything in particular, so we moved

around a lot, from one job to the next. It allowed us both

All in all, I have to say I think Blair had a good

childhood. He certainly met a lot of people along the way

and tried a lot of things. If he hadn't been raised the way

he was, I don't think he would have ever gotten interested

in anthropology and the idea that Sentinels really exist,

and then he never would have met Jim. And I think he was

meant to meet Jim, so therefore he was meant to grow up on

the move, always meeting new people, adapting to different

cultures, learning that as varied as we all are on this

planet, we are all human beings together.

So, anyway, let me get to the purpose of my letter. I

have to let you know that I keep up with what you are all

writing. If hundreds of people were writing stories about

your son, wouldn't you read them? And, yes, I mean every

one of them. This is where the problem lies, in the stories

First, I'll speak to you angst people. Some of you

write stories that put my Blair in danger and he ends up

getting hurt, sometimes really badly hurt. You have shot

him, cut him, burned him, had him drugged, and even raped,

not to mention that the poor boy has been hit in the head

so many times it's amazing he still has a brain left in

there. As if that weren't bad enough, you then decide he

needs to be depressed and suicidal. Some of you have even

had him actually try to kill himself. How could you do

this? This is my son here. He is not some depressed

punching bag for the world to beat on.

As for you slash'ers, you're a whole other story.

You make my Blair become gay, which, don't get me wrong, I

don't have a problem with. I mean, I've had a lot of gay

friends throughout my life. Of course, that sort of means I

shouldn't be expecting any grandkids any time soon, but I'm

okay with that too, as long as my son is happy. And some of

you do let him be happy, which is great with me.

But, some of you insist on making him into a

doormat. Let him be a gay man. Okay, that's fine. But he is

still a man, a strong man with a will of his own. He would

never be submissive in a relationship. I don't care if the

guy he's with is taller, stronger, more muscular and maybe

bossier. That would not change my Blair into a wimpy little

sissy. If I had a daughter, I wouldn't let her act as

'door-matty' as some of you have my son act in your

So, anyway, there you have it. My request, as a

mother, is that you stop hurting my precious son, and let

him be happy and well adjusted for a while. Just give him a

break. He needs a rest from being kidnapped and battered.

And if you want Jim and him to have a sexual relationship,

let it be with mutual love and respect. That's all I'm

I trust you'll understand my point of view here.

After all, some of you are mothers too. Surely, you also,

would not be thrilled by the writers turning your son into

a walking target, or as some of you like to call him, a

So, keep writing your stories. That's just fine with

me. But how about toning it down just a bit on the

injuries. You can do that, can't you?

Appreciatively Yours,

Naomi Sandburg

Post Warning: or Plea: please do not take this as

criticism from a fellow writer. it is a work of fiction, a

fictional letter from a fictional character. As far as the

content of the letter: it is what i think Naomi Sandburg

would say if we gave her a voice. It does not translate

into a real request for us to tone anything down: I am the