Beauty Takes a Beating

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There were two (so far) letters to the editor of the Herald this week complaining about the cover photo on Sunday's TV Week insert. What was it they found so offensive?

I'm offended by the ever increasing popularity of violent "reality" programming showing video of actual plane crashes and police chases; crime dramas which depict grisly killings in horrific detail, that sort of thing.

I'm offended by so-called "news" commentators on both the right (Mostly FOX) and the left (mostly MSNBC) who belittle anyone they disagree with by shouting and getting angry on the air. I'm offended by people like Nancy (Dis)Grace (a CNN product) who blows every sensational small-town crime into a national calamity.

I'm offended by programs that turn everything from dating to cooking into spectator sports that humiliate the losers.

But nobody complains about those.

Instead they complain about beauty. Those two letter writers (one of whom is a friend of mine) went out of their way to tell everyone they were offended about seeing a Victoria's Secret model on the cover of TV Week. They said it was degrading.

This is how warped our culture has become. Violence, anger and humiliation are broadcast on almost every channel, but it is a photo of a beautiful woman that prompts outrage.

I find that outrageous.

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