Letters to the Editor
rebecalouise
Published Letters: 152 Editor's Choice: 9
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gore and running for pres
[Read the article: Regarding Oscar]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I have a Mexican post-graduate student who is studying US politics and media staying with me. We watched the Oscars last night. I was thrilled with the wins for An Inconvenient Truth. She asked me about whether I thought Gore would run for president. I told her that if Al Gore starts losing weight -- that will be the best indication that he plans to run for President.
So -- all you political wonks and Gore fans: just watch his size. Big: No go. Smaller -- he's going for it!
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cary and vicky v...porn is personal...
[Read the article: Porn in theory, porn in practice]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Now, let me preface this with my discomfort about the "porn industry." I remember a comic who had a riff in his act about how he has a little daughter and how he is raising her to have a wonderful self-esteem. Of course, the downside to all this, he said, is that if everyone starts doing this, there will be no more pole dancers! But, I buy lots of goods that are made in China by political prisoners so I guess I am not going to try to be responsible for reforming the porn biz on my own either.
Porn is personal. To Cary it seems to be a bad thing. I mean, my goodness -- read his answer. Crack, indeed! It is causing Vicky V personal discomfort. That is important and not to be ignored by her boyfriend.
But, I agree with many of the posters here. I think her problem is more a "relationship problem" than a "porn problem." I had one beau who watched porn so much I used to laugh at him. But he treated me like a princess, had no sexual hang-ups and was a terrific lover. I had another beau who watched a little porn "on the sly" because he had tons of sexual hang-ups and constantly "self-censored" himself. As time went on he also tried to muzzle me and my sexuality.
But, to most reasonable people, porn is an end to itself. The brain is the most important sexual organ. Few people REALLY want to have the experiences they enjoy watching in porn -- and unless they are movie producers or rap stars it usually doesn't go well, anyway. It can be one element of a well-rounded sex life and a "filler" when you are between lovers. It is not for everyone and a lot of porn is dreck.
But, Cary, your comment is insulting to a lot of people AND didn't address Vicky V's relationship problem.
Vicky V -- if you have issues with your boyfriend, discuss them. I don’t think it is the porn. It is probably insecurity and "ghosts" from your past relationship. If your new boyfriend cares about you, he will help you sort things out. If he cannot give up porn until you become more secure or if you cannot work to become more secure, then you have bigger things to resolve than whether your new BF likes Big'Uns 2 -- The New Orgy Adventure!
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rap and imus
[Read the article: Firing Imus was the right thing]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I don't know why anyone -- you included -- has not mentioned something very important about rap. It is ART. It may not be art everyone likes but as I explained to a conservative cousin of mine -- many in French society considered Impressionist Art depraved and vulgar. The Nazis and the Soviet Communists routinely categorized certain modern art as depraved and anti-social. When my young children started listening to Eminem I figured I should listen to him and try to decide whether to let them continue. I listened to his music and was mesmerized. It was violent and hit me like a hammer -- but it was a kind of poetry. Yes, this was one screwed up puppy -- but he was a talented screwed up puppy.
So, Ms. Walsh, defend the art of rapping the way you would have defended Van Gogh or Picasso. Or Manet's The Picnic -- which was accused of being depraved and anti-female in its day!
Do I like "gangsta rap?" Not much. But I also do not like the communities some of the young rappers come out of. I do not like the lack of attention our society gives to minority children and to our major urban centers. And yes, my affluent children also listen to "gangsta rap.” But they are wonderful progressive liberals who are not sexist or violent and want to make the world a better place.
Does that mean that all of us shouldn't try to encourage young rappers to find less violent ways to express themselves and to help young poor people to express themselves differently? Of course not. But suppressing art and artistic expression is not the way to do it.
And comparing artistic expression (even if some rappers get rich) to a powerful rich white guy insulting powerless strangers is just a way for white guys like Joe Scarborough to deal with their knee-jerk reaction that everything is a zero sum gain. That is: If a rich white guy like himself gets hurt -- some minority must also get hurt. They aren't used to having anything bad happen to them so they have a hard time dealing with it.