pingdum said:You're missing the whole point. The point is that nipples arn't necessarily a big deal one way or the other. I don't care if people show their asses or whatever. It's the people who get all offended and hyper about these things that draw all the attention and make people (especially kids) think that something big deal is going on. Personally I do think I have the mature adult attitude about this subject in that I can handle seeing a naked body part without going all off. Unlike the Attorney General who can't even look at a statue of Justice without getting all freaked out.
EDIT: Personally I am more offended by your avatar that implies that the act of killing someone is a joke.
Once again pingdum you are using your usual techniques of misrepresentation and distortion to attempt to make a point. Atty. Gen. Ashcroft did not cover the statue in Justice because he found statuary nudity personally offensive, but because he knew that TV reporters frequent that area and interview officials there quite frequently. As such, the nude statue could possibly serve as background on TV broadcasts and believing that many viewers might find this offensive, he ordered it to be covered. While Ashcroft was trying to be sensitive to the legitimate concerns of some of his fellow Americans, you choose to put an absurdist construction on Ashcroft's actions so that you can portray him as a right-wing, conservative, bible-driven freak who wants to take away not only our liberties but our "constitutional" right to see bare breasts exposed in public. On the other hand, if you truly believe that Ashcroft's motivation was due to his loathing of viewing naked statues then, as I've said in another context, I believe you to have a truly paranoid view of the world which tends to marginalize your viewpoints and opinions.
There is, of course, nothing inherently wrong with exposing one's breast or looking at naked breasts. What was wrong with the Janet Jackson fiasco was where and why she did it, not the exposure itself. Despite your dislike of football, the Super Bowl event is advertised and expected to be run as a family-oriented event suitable for the general American public to view. The NFL encourages women and children to spectate as well as sports fans.
A second problem with what Jackson did is that it represents just another example of the commercialization of sex-exposing your tit so that you can increase your new album sales. Very admirable. If you can't inherently see why both men and women objected to this, I'm sure I'll never find words to explain. Many women resent being objectified and no mother who was watching wanted her child to be exposed to a gratuitous sexual display. I was watching the Super Bowl with my teenage son and my wife and although he is too old to be shocked by nudity, what his parents object to and resent is the message that was being sent, not the image of the breast itself.
Like you, I don't want my freedom of action abridged because of the needs of children. However, as a society, we all have some responsibility in protecting children from its more negative aspects. As a parent, I have always tried to inculcate in my son a set of moral and ethical values that, yes, both I and his mother believe in. Jackson's episode just doesn't fit in with that.
I'm glad that you're mature enough to see a naked body part without "going all off." I think most of us on the Forum feel the same way. The point is, not that there is anything wrong with nudity or sexuality but rather the appropriateness of when to partake of it.
Don't make the mistake of thinking that I am trying to convince you of my viewpoint. I recognize that you and I have radically different assumptions about the nature of the world, the nature of people and the relationship of people to each other. Therefore, we have no common basis for discussion. I am only expressing my opinion here which I do from time to time when I come across a post I find totally outrageous.
02 DX Millenium Red
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