Sideswipe sensitivity

Granted, columnists get more latitude, and opinion is free, and all that stuff. Lighter editing doesn't mean no editing at all. It would have been nice if someone had taken the Boston Globe sports desk aside for a little chat before this one ran:

Here's Belichick's problem, and it has nothing to do with the fact that he dresses like he's from Appalachia and has the personality of a wet mop: He thinks he's above everybody else.

Enlighten us there a little, Mr. Boston Globe: How do people from Appalachia dress? What are those warning signs that tip you off, so the simple folk of the hills can avoid your scorn in the future? Wanna fill us in on how you can tell when someone "thinks he's above everybody else"?

Doesn't take a lot of imagination to come up with a circumstance that would have Mr. Globe off to the gulag for a sideswipe like that. Desk, next time the guy's about to step on his columnisthood in public, help him out a little, OK? Don't expect any thanks for it on the spot, but in a day or two, it might sink in.