Violence Was What Offended at Super Bowl

Dear Editor,
   I would like to echo Doris Nelson's distaste with the Super Bowl halftime show when she wrote "my outrage comes from the act of ripping a woman's clothing. ... Staged or not is irrelevant. The message is the same" ["Postmarks" online, Feb. 5]. This was my reaction exactly, first after seeing only the clip of the incident. Even after seeing the demonstration in context, with Miss Jackson's (since I'm nasty) obvious encouragement of sexual advances as displayed through the choreography, because her (staged) reaction to the exposure was shock and somber embarrassment. I had written on my (children-friendly Beanie Baby) chat board: "What I find objectionable is that Timberlake ripped the garment off in a mock assault. This behavior could indeed adversely affect impressionable youth, and I would hope that all children who viewed this display would be educated that the 'assault' and not the exposure per se is behavior deserving reproach." I conclude that the best adjective for the antics of the halftime show is "inappropriate," certainly not obscene and most likely not even indecent. An afterthought I had is that "the closet" is not only a construct that crippled several generations of gay youth; it is in place, and straight, mainstream America is firmly entrenched there.