MerrinDonahue.com

But now I have no choice. People are incredibly stupid. The American public just got suckered into exactly what MTV expected. Like the sheep we tend to be, sure enough, the Super Bowl was not fodder for the water coolers of the world on Monday. Justin and Janet, however, are a different story.
Now, the artists, the networks, and the FCC can preach to me all damn day about how inappropriate the finale of the Half-Time Show was. You’ll get no argument here. But if one more person uses their children as a moral shield, I’m gonna scream. Justin (and his ex hoochy) are stars because they appeal to adolescents. Who do you think gave the kids money to buy the CDs? The parents of these kids have no problem with their kids listening to the music.
Here’s the problem: The lyrics clearly state Justin’s intention. That being the case, isn’t it time we did away with the double standard? Is it okay to say it but not do it? Is it okay to portray girls as sex objects? We watch the videos. We let our kids watch TRL. We even buy the music for them. We don’t turn the station when a Britney Spears song plays (in fact, Toxic was the number one most requested song last night in the DFW area).
Yes, it was inappropriate, at least without a warning. But come on: Do you really think that what happened at Half-Time was worse than most videos? What about violent video games? Don’t you think it’s time to stop the double standard? Just one more thing: Shock only retains the value that people place in it. In other words, had we not reacted as a society, or better yet, had parents used it as an opportunity to teach kids right from….well, not wrong exactly, so let’s say…tasteless, this kind of thing wouldn’t be perpetuated. So congratulations, angry Moral America. You did just what they wanted you to do.