The Agony of the Extasy

The blatant hypocrisy of those opposed to the Extasy club in Northridge featuring live nude girls bares more than skin.

I bet the majority of those protesting Extasy have no problem with movies that glorify mayhem and all manner of illicit sex playing in theaters right in their own holy and sacrosanct neighborhood.

“Bugsy”--replete with murder, sex and the glorification of gangsterism--is viewed highly, but the viewing of the naked human body is to be protested and prevented.

When the movie “Dressed to Kill” was shown on television I would not allow my young children to view it. My mother-in-law, for once, agreed with me, saying children should not be viewing the movie’s explicit sex scenes. Rather rapidly, my mother-in-law realized that she should not have reversed her opinion of me when I replied that my prohibition had nothing to do with the movie’s sex scenes, but rather with the violently bloody murder scenes.

Or does the hypocrisy and doublethink go beyond a loathing of the human body and an acceptance of violence to a very practical fear that such a club in a predominantly middle-class Caucasian neighborhood will drive down property values? The hidden agenda in the protest against Extasy should be exposed to the same light as the bodies of the nude dancers.

SYLVAIN FRIBOURG

Woodland Hills