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Dear Betsy, THERE are lots of them out there, I know, I used to be married to one of them. These Neanderthals can come heavily disguised as handsome, romantic, caring men who under the clever facade are just absolute *******, like you say.

Let this be a warning to women everywhere, don't fall for them, don't trust them and for goodness sake, if any of them start texting you, tell them to get lost.

Don't be fooled into thinking he is complimenting you, it is really a huge insult to your womanhood and your intelligence.They are lurking everywhere, even living next door to you.

My neighbour's husband, who works in a financial institute, has tried this with me. His texts at first were innocent then quickly turned to sexting. I showed them to his wife, she blamed me. Stupid woman, but that is her coping mechanism, I suppose.

Men in general are shallow, sex obsessed creatures who only care about their base needs ... and food has nothing to do with it. Girls, rise above it all.

MS.

Dear Betsy,

I am not writing to publications as a rule, but your column this week made me so crazy I had to do it. Your witty and clever reply to 'him' was just perfect and made us all laugh out loud at work. I doubt that he has the intelligence to decypher your reply.

I am a happily married man in my late 50s who was appalled to read his reply to you. He is an embarassment to mankind and is obviously emotionally bereft. In our office we were split 50-50 as to whether sexting was acceptable as harmless fun or was blatant infidelity.

I agree with the latter, but the younger guys went for the former. Perhaps that's the main point of the divide.

When you are young and emotionally immature and perhaps not able to grasp how valuable loyalty and fidelity are in a relationship then you are more likely to see it as a bit of fun and, as emotional maturity sets in, if you are sensible, you cherish that loyalty and fidelity.

My guess is your Neanderthal man is also one of those who drives up the hard shoulder when we are all queuing patiently in traffic, he is the selfish driver who cuts in and weaves lanes, he is talking and texting when driving, smoking in the no-smoking zone and sees women as mere sex toys whose feelings are irrelevant.

If there is any justice in this world then he will wake up one day to discover just how irrelevant he is.

Ladies, be assured we are not all Neanderthals and some of us adore and worship our dear wives.

Gentleman Jim.

Hello Betsy,

Your reply was accurate and to the point - he deserved it. I am surprised that he got married at all ... hats off to his wife!

I feel that he thinks sex is the only way to give a good time for his wife. If he is feeling bored he should rather be finding out what he has not been giving to his wife. Does he really know what she likes and what she misses after getting married to him? I think the guy forgets that marriage is not only about sex but companionship, sharing daily burdens together and so on. I am wondering what he will do in his old age for excitement? Hmph ... and what a super duper example for his kids.

Later, when his kids show the same behaviour he will definitely blame it on their generation.

If he shows understanding possibly his wife might turn out to be more interesting after all. I think he is totally messed up. He has an utopian ideal woman in his dream world and keeps thinking of prospective candidates for that dream.

These are living human beings we are talking of, not some instruments which can be used and later thrown away. I feel that if his 'texting girl' has any shred of dignity left she will also dump him for using her too.

DS.

Dear Betsy,

You are not a good writer. What was your reply to him saying? How do you know he is working in the bank? If he wants good times with his girlfriend, why is it bad?

He is not doing bad things, but using his phone only. You are interfering too much and telling us what to do, like back in our schooldays. You are not getting his point.

Krishna.

Dear Betsy,

Betsy you are the best! Loved your column as always, especially how you responded to 'proud text man'. Thanks for backing up us girls. Good for you.

RT.

Dear Betsy,

What a laugh. I had missed your previous column so had to get a copy and read it to fully appreciate your hilarious reply to this idiot who calls himself a man.

He won't even realise you have insulted him and once someone else with half a brain explains it to him then he will think it's a compliment and will rush to let everyone know he is the 'Proud Text Man'.

What a plonker (although your description was much more accurate). Sad to say, he will probably end up as a cult hero amongst the other Neanderthals who are his friends.

I remember his type from my younger single days. The only way he will get your point is if he falls in love and the girl does this to him. A clear case of what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. Thank you for brightening up our weekends with your entertaining, informative and inspirational column.

Modern Millie.

Dear Betsy,

Hey 'Proud Text Man', you seriously think 'sexting' is right?

I thought relationships were supposed to be about committing to one special person. There was never a third party mentioned, was there? So why did you get married again?

Do you have any feelings? Obviously not! Yeah, you say it's just for 'fun' but is it really? It's so sad that you need another woman's WORDS to fulfil your needs with your wife. What is your wife supposed to do about this situation? I'm pretty sure most loving wives would not agree with this 'sexting' nonsense. Men like you, in the end, will end up alone with no one and nothing in your sad little lives.

Life is not a fairytale but you work with what you have got and find a way around hard moments. Obviously you're too greedy and want more. I feel sorry for the girl who is married to such a selfish and sad being and I hope she finds someone better soon.

Loud and Proud.

Dear Readers,

Thank you for all your replies to last week's column. Space restrictions mean we are unable to print them all. Others, we could not print without fear of the Editor being offered an early compulsory Easter break!

It appears this sexting issue is a very emotive one and judging by your replies, a very common one.

Many of you wrote to say you had received seemingly innocent texts which quickly turned very personal.

I was heartened to receive emails from some of you lovely men out there who were just as disgusted by Proud Text Man as our lady readers were. This sexting issue worries lots of you. Regular texting worries me too.

Like it or not, texting as a means of communicating is here to stay. It has a lot of positive uses, but like all good things, it is open to abuse by intellectually-challenged or the ethically and morally bereft. It is also, in my opinion, hastening the demise of the English language.

How many of you regularly use text language now such as LOL, c u ltr, gr8 etc? You know you are in trouble when you find yourself writing emails to business colleagues in the same language.

I have always prided myself on being able to read and write and spell correctly and I endeavour to uphold the traditional English language when writing. I am the rebel that always tries to change the language setting on my computer to 'UK English' and find it infuriating when the only option is 'US English'.

I spend hours 'adding to dictionary' when my spell check on my laptop tells me that 'colour' is incorrect and it should be corrected to 'color'.

Our American cousins are welcome to their version of 'Amglish' but I am a traditional girl at heart and a proud product of the rigours of a strict Scottish state education.

It dismays me to see how many young people are incapable of structuring even the most basic sentence and their grasp of grammar can be shocking. How long will it be until the spell check corrects my 'see you later' to 'c u l8r'? Scary.

What do other readers think? Does text lingo drive you crazy or do you embrace it and see it as the future? Let me know.

On a final note, a friend was discussing Proud Text Man's letter with me. She said that he should think himslef lucky he is not living in a neighbouring country, as she read recently that his counterpart in that country had been jailed for three months for 'inapproriate texting".

But victims of 'sext abuse' in Bahrain shouldn't hold their breath, if we can't uphold the 'no smoking ban' or the 'mobile phone whilst driving ban' then this ban wouldn't stand a chance. Or is that 'wudnt stnd chns'!

Email me with your thoughts on texting betsymathieson@hotmail.com