Columnist fighting a losing cultural battle
By
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To the editor:
One of my friends was incensed over Mike Ballentine's recent column, telling people they can't wear their pajamas to Wal-mart.
Stop the presses. I mean, I know we've got a catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, our county's unemployment rate has risen to 16 percent (actually 9.9 percent) and there seems no end in sight for the summer heat wave, but this? This is news?
Somebody's telling people they can't wear their comfy PJ's to Wal-mart? Them's fighting words. I decided to investigate.
Sure enough, "that Ballentine dude", as my friend so eloquently put it, seems to be inciting the masses to put an end to the abominable practice of donning fuzzy slippers and other such boudoir attire whilst shopping at our elegant local Wal-mart. I can kind of see his point. I mean, what's next?
Muumuus at McDonalds? There goes the neighborhood.
My friend, however, was a little bit less than compassionate concerning Mr. Ballentine's aforesaid comments ("The end of,'whatever,'" July 16). She, like I imagine a lot of people who value their sartorial choices and Constitutionally-provided freedoms of expression, felt this was a hideously stringent edict. She basically said, to paraphrase, "who is he to tell me what to wear?"
Honestly, although my friends' and Mr. Ballentine's opinions concerning casual dress are diametrically oppositional, I see merit in both. Yes, you should feel free to wear what you want, within reason, and express yourself accordingly, but, at the same time, it is prudent to respect the prevailing
cultural norm.
Unfortunately for Mr. Ballentine, I feel that he is fighting a losing cultural battle. Had his column been written forty years ago, it would have been replete with references to hippies and their long hair. Twenty years ago, he could have complained about punk rocker kids with pink spiky hair and excessive makeup. The cultural divide between a conservative baseline and an apathetic adolescent counterculture is hardly new. Or newsworthy.
Whatever.
Sincerely,
Juliane A. Cartaino
Hillsboro
Editor's note: To your last point, that's why the column was in the Opinion section, not a News section. Great letter, by the way!
To the editor:
One of my friends was incensed over Mike Ballentine's recent column, telling people they can't wear their pajamas to Wal-mart.
Stop the presses. I mean, I know we've got a catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, our county's unemployment rate has risen to 16 percent (actually 9.9 percent) and there seems no end in sight for the summer heat wave, but this? This is news?
Somebody's telling people they can't wear their comfy PJ's to Wal-mart? Them's fighting words. I decided to investigate.
Sure enough, "that Ballentine dude", as my friend so eloquently put it, seems to be inciting the masses to put an end to the abominable practice of donning fuzzy slippers and other such boudoir attire whilst shopping at our elegant local Wal-mart. I can kind of see his point. I mean, what's next?
Muumuus at McDonald's? There goes the neighborhood.
My friend, however, was a little bit less than compassionate concerning Mr. Ballentine's aforesaid comments ("The end of,'whatever,'" July 16). She, like I imagine a lot of people who value their sartorial choices and Constitutionally-provided freedoms of expression, felt this was a hideously stringent edict. She basically said, to paraphrase, "who is he to tell me what to wear?"
Honestly, although my friends' and Mr. Ballentine's opinions concerning casual dress are diametrically oppositional, I see merit in both. Yes, you should feel free to wear what you want, within reason, and express yourself accordingly, but, at the same time, it is prudent to respect the prevailing
cultural norm.
Unfortunately for Mr. Ballentine, I feel that he is fighting a losing cultural battle. Had his column been written forty years ago, it would have been replete with references to hippies and their long hair. Twenty years ago, he could have complained about punk rocker kids with pink spiky hair and excessive makeup. The cultural divide between a conservative baseline and an apathetic adolescent counterculture is hardly new. Or newsworthy.
Whatever.
Sincerely,
Juliane A. Cartaino
Hillsboro
Editor's note: To your last point, that's why the column was in the Opinion section, not a News section. Great letter, by the way!
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