Time To Clean Up The Pen

I apologize for maligning livestock with this post, but I have this compulsion to be a moralistic scold from time to time, and it serves my purpose.

This story in the New York Times today tells us…

At halftime of the Jets’ home game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, several hundred men lined one of Giants Stadium’s two pedestrian ramps at Gate D. Three deep in some areas, they whistled and jumped up and down. Then they began an obscenity-laced chant, demanding that the few women in the gathering expose their breasts.

When one woman appeared to be on the verge of obliging, the hooting and hollering intensified. But then she walked away, and plastic beer bottles and spit went flying. Boos swept through the crowd of unsatisfied men.

This behavior is obviously reprehensible, but I just want to point something out based on this story (actually, it’s a headline only at this point since the AP story is archived). What the headline states is that the suicide rate of young girls in this country is at its highest level in 15 years.

Gee, do you think it’s because they’re consistently encouraged to engage in demeaning behavior, or that their “role models” are Britney Spears parading around without her underwear on or Lindsay Lohan crawling out of rehab for the 50th time? This stuff is catalogued en masse in any one of the seemingly endless supply of supermarket rags we encounter every day (also online in abundance, of course).

And stories like this don’t have anything to do with the self-esteem issues of these girls either – not much they don’t.

And I’m not talking about the “Girls Gone Wild” in the videos here, by the way (who chose to take the money for that, after all), and though I’ve featured videos here myself that have been a bit suggestive (such as "The Moneymaker" by Rilo Kiley) along with some pics of that type from time to time, they have featured adult women who choose to act in a particular manner.

I’m not the parent of a daughter, but I don’t believe that is a requirement to look out for them, since in the end, we’re still talking about kids. And even though I don’t have any statistical data in front of me at the moment or eyewitness testimony, I’m quite sure little girls witnessed the behavior of the men at Gate D and came away with one of two pretty clear messages: 1) Either “tart it up” or you’ll be nothing in life, or b) All men are despicable life forms concerned only with their own gratification and absolutely nothing else.

And let’s not forget that the Gate D behavior is permitted by The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which is responsible for “security” at the New York Giants and Jets home football games. To contact these people and ask them why they permit this, click here.

And the Times story also communicates the following…

Marco Hoffner, an 18-year-old from Lacey Township, N.J., was expecting to see more. Not from the Jets — they pulled off a big upset over the Steelers. He wanted more from the alternative halftime show that, according to many fans, has been a staple at Jets home games for years.

“Very disappointed, because we’re used to seeing a lot,” Hoffner said.

Marco, take a Playboy magazine into the bathroom with a rag or a wash cloth next time. I’m sure you’ll know what to do next.