There’s a big difference between being useful and being respected.

Readers discuss an essay by Anand Giridharadas about Jeffrey Epstein’s circle. Also: The White House ballroom; Medicare for All; immigrant fears.

This is a classic breakup drama.

The release of more Epstein files could take down many prominent men in Washington — both Republicans and Democrats. But for the columnist Lydia Polgreen, the purge is not a bad thing. “You need this renewal,” she says on this episode of “The Opinions.”

On Tuesday, victims of the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein gathered to bring attention to the House vote to release the Epstein files. On this episode of “The Opinions,” the contributing Opinion writer Molly Jong-Fast describes the connection these women felt with one another and with their Republican advocate Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene. “They’re not faking it,” Jong-Fast says. “They had a real camaraderie.”

“You need this renewal. You need new figures who are untouched, who were never part of these awful power games,” the columnist Lydia Polgreen argues.

Once again, we see how far this country will go to maintain the power of men at the expense of women’s bodies.

Cases of domestic violence in China point to a legal system that looks good on paper but is failing victims because of a lack of resources and political will.