Letter to the Editor, Los Angeles Times:
To the Editor,
I searched in vain through columns
and columns of coverage pertaining to the Grammy Awards,
trying to locate the most significant event of the evening
in regard to the so-called Eminem controversy. After all
the fatuous support he received from performer after performer
implicitly upholding his inflammatory lyrics claiming
they are "funny" and "poetic" in order
to camouflage their rancid bigotry; after the half-hearted
embrace he deigned to give Elton John, who hugged him
ardently; after his receiving a standing ovation for God-knows-what,
Mr. Mathers raised his middle finger to all the camp-followers
who have rushed to defend, not his music--which was never
the object of protest--but his obnoxious lyrics. Too bad
he didn't employ the same signal of contempt before the
judge hearing his arms-possession case. No, there he appeared,
in a photograph carried by the Times, like a meek choirboy,
with suit and tie, his tiny hand raised as if in prayer.
John Rechy
Los Angeles, California
February 2001

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Original material by John Rechy appears
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