Letter to the Editor....

Today, I wrote and sent this letter to the Editor of our local rag. We'll see if it gets published. Doubt it. Peace all.

Dear Editor,

A few months back we planned to attend the “Movie Under the Moon” event, put on by the Salvation Army. We arrived early and our two young children were very excited to experience watching a fun movie outdoors. They had 60’s type music playing to make the time pass while we were waiting for the sun to set. As dusk was approaching, the man in charge made an announcement that they would be playing some music videos before the movie would start (again a tactic to pass the time). My husband and I looked at each other and both wondered what type of music videos they would play, knowing that the majority of what we see on MTV is NOT appropriate for young eyes. As soon as our eyes turned back to the screen, we saw a scantily clad woman on the screen dancing to the song “You Shook Me All Night Long”, by ACDC. “Knockin me out with those American thighs…and we were makin’ it and you shook me all night long.” We were shocked! My husband immediately went to the man in charge and asked if they thought that this was appropriate for young children to see. Unfortunately, the man in charge of the movie equipment, and the head of the event for the Salvation Army argued that, yes, this was fine and they didn’t see a problem with it. We had to make the tough decision to take the kids home trying to explain that this wasn’t after all, a family event. As we left the video that proceeded was “Wild Thing” by the artist Tone-Loc. “Hopefully if things go well, I’ll be with you tonight…Couldn’t get her off my jack… that’s what happens when body starts slappin from doing the wild thing.”

Is this what it has come to? Have we become so complacent and our hearts so hardened that we don’t care what our children see or what their precious ears hear? From what I noticed at the time, we were the only family that had a reaction to these videos. How sad that we can’t have a local event that is truly “family friendly”.

In the spirit of not giving up on our community and continuing to try and find events that we can experience with our children, we often check out the Daily Times website, delmarvanow.com. I was so disappointed the other day when I went to the “entertainment” section and was bombarded with photos of half-naked women from the “Miss Seacrets” competition. The coverage of this event is in my opinion, NOT news, totally unnecessary, and VERY offensive. As a family trying to live righteous, morally sound lives, I am pleading with you and your paper to remove these images from your website. I am sure I am speaking for many families in this area when I make this plea. Take a stance against what our society deems as “acceptable” and stand out from the norm. Have pride in your establishment as one that protects the spirits and eyes of your viewers, especially the children.

Once again we are let down by our community. We will pray for you and for our city.

Thank you.
Becky V.

(I did sign my full name by the way...)