The Who

To the Editors:

The Who [Dec. 17] is pure energy. After a concert, the band is drained and the audience is drained. Rock is as important and effective an outlet for energy as is sports. To paraphrase Pete Townshend, rock is the only thing that can verbalize the frustrations of youth and at the same time give you the vehicle to dance the trouble away.

Glenn S. Hall

Camillus, N. Y.

How much I would give to have been born sooner so I could have followed The Who for its whole career. Its music, rock 'n' roll without compromising intelligence and wit, is as timeless as Beethoven and the Beatles.

Robin McElfresh

Houston

The violently destructive message that The Who and other rock groups deliver leaves me little surprised that they attract a mob that will trample human beings to death to gain better seats. Of greater concern is a respected newsmagazine's adulation of this sick phenomenon.

E. Thomas Szappanos

Coraopolis, Pa.

While standing in the crowd at Riverfront Coliseum, I distinctly remember feeling that I was being punished for being a rock fan. My sister and I joked about this, unaware of the horror happening around us. Later, those jokes came back to us grimly as we watched the news. How many lives before the punitive and inhuman policy of festival seating at rock concerts is outlawed?

Carole Singleton

Cincinnati

Hating the U.S.

Has the Ayatullah Khomeini no way of uniting his so-called religious nation other than through the common hatred of the U.S. [Dec. 10]? If that is all he can give the Iranian people, besides a 13th century lifestyle, then perhaps they should refrain from their incessant demonstrating and make a closer examination of Khomeini and his policies.

Diane W. Clark

Austin

I'm quite surprised the Ayatullah Khomeini hasn't blamed the U.S. for the recent earthquakes in northeastern Iran --or maybe he just hasn't thought of it yet.

Bruce Stevenson

Paradise Valley, Ariz.

I find it incredible that you published an article in which you admitted that the Shah used torture and murder to sustain his regime, and then excused him for those deeds because he wasn't as bad as Hitler. Well, my God--who is? How inhuman does a despot have to be for his evil to outweigh his usefulness?

Julie Bennington

Indianapolis

A Foreign Menace

It is a great shame that Hugh Sidey, in his article "The Shape of Things to Come" [Dec. 17], regards the rekindling of a warlike spirit in the U.S. as a matter for rejoicing. I have two sons, and I do not think the possibility of war a matter to rejoice about. It seems to me that Sidey is advocating doing exactly what Khomeini is doing, using a "foreign menace" to help his people forget about their real economic problems.

Rosalinda Perez

Garnerville, N. Y.

Star Trek's Message

I agree that the movie Star Trek [Dec. 17] is flawed; however, your reviewer's criticism that "there isn't even a battle scene at the climax" reveals a saddening ignorance of Star Trek's underlying message of optimism. In a future when we have achieved superior technology, it is hoped, we will put that knowledge to a more humane and productive use than the efficient slaughter of one another.

Mark J. Ferrari

White Plains, N. Y.

Perhaps Mr. Schickel would enjoy Star Trek more if he could understand it. Those "weirdos" were not inside the alien machine, they were inside the Klingon warships. Since these warships were destroyed by the alien, I for one was not surprised that the weirdos did not show up later in the movie.

Mike Doming

Urbana, III.

Bravo to Richard Schickel for his incisive review of Star Trek--The Motion Picture, my nominee for turkey of the year! I only regret that I was among those foolish enough to contribute their money to this movie's early box office success.

Michael P. Ostrqwski

Chicago

How dare Richard Schickel say Star Trek's popularity is a "cult vogue among the half-educated"? I'll put my college degrees up against his any day. I hope Mr. Schickel, who I'm sure is a Klingon, falls into a black hole.

Clyde C. Council

Sarasota, Fla.

Carols in Schools

The groups seeking to ban Christmas carols from music curriculums in public schools [Dec. 17] are imposing a strict interpretation of carols as a form of worship, and are denying children the right to study their own culture in a school setting. Would the ban extend to other musical and artistic works inspired by religion, such as Handel's Messiah or Michelangelo's Pieta? Or to mythology and art from other religions? Religion is a part of the human experience.

Rosemarie Higgins Gentry

Tempe, Ariz.

Mormons and the ERA

Why is the courageous Sonia Johnson labeled militant for her support of ERA in the face of opposition from the Mormon church [Dec. 17]? I know of no other lobbyists who are described as such, not even the military. It conjures in the mind a huge Amazon, flailing her arms about, mowing down Congressmen, state legislators, press people and presidential candidates. Could this be another putdown, like "the little woman"?

Carita Poutinen

Tucson

Equal Rights Amendment? Hah! It is no longer a cause for ethical fairness and rectification of injustice. ERA, your name has become Intolerance and Void of Conscience. You have become a bully, an oppressor, openly persecuting churches and the public who oppose you.

Eugene A. Hooper

Salt Lake City

I am also a "modern Mormon matron" who, while not having been excommunicated or agreeing with Mrs. Johnson about the ERA, has felt the heavy hand, with which church leaders control the members. I do not think of the Mormon leadership as a particularly savage group. I would rather classify their attitude as plain run-of-the-mill misogyny.

Carol Czerwonky

South Beloit, Ill.

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