How to spot a 'playa' - Letters to the editor - Letter to the Editor

While most would think grown women would not need detailed articles to tell them how to spot losers, I'll be the first to admit that I wish I had read your article, "Sisters Beware: How To Spot A 'Playa'" (Sept. 2003), about three years ago. Before that, I thought the term "playa" was just a cute word to describe men who like to date a lot of women. I learned the hard way that men who are "playas" are not cute at all.

I dated a man from a "good family" who lied about the number of children he had fathered, his criminal record, and he borrowed thousands of dollars from me that he promised to pay back and never did--all the while claiming to be a man who believed in God, marriage and family.

By admitting that I was conned, I can finally be free from the shame, and someday move beyond ray bitterness and again feel the willingness to trust another Black man in a relationship.

In the end, it's really how men and women, particularly Black men and women, view one another that suffers when people intentionally prey on another person's genuine feelings in order to satisfy their selfish whims. What's fun and games in one person's life can be devastating to another.

Name Withheld

COPYRIGHT 2003 Johnson Publishing Co.
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