Another Liberal Attack

Ah... it is okay, I'm a big girl conservative, so I can take it. In fact, their attacks are compliments to me.

 A friend alerted me to a reader letter in our local liberal rag, the Winston-Salem Journal. Rick Mashburn writes:

 "Ambushed

 Pattie Curran? Hmmm. The name rings a bell. Isn't she the mom with the teen sons who got ambushed at the opera by the twiggy thing bent in the shape of a lady-part ("Opera patron unhappy with art," March 16)? But wait. There's a person named Pattie Curran who organized a protest and spoke to the media in opposition to insurance coverage for reproductive healthcare ("Rally scheduled to protest birth control rules," March 20). That's the same Pattie Curran. Hmmm. But wouldn't that mean she had political objections to the lady-part art, since its title clearly makes a comment on the current reproductive healthcare controversy? Which in turn would mean that she was not completely honest in her argument for placing notification on the art? Hmm. Seems like maybe it was the art that got ambushed."

 I wrote a short response and submitted it to the paper (will follow these comments). Where do these liberals live? So, I can't have a political opinion? Really? Sadly, he heard what he wanted to hear and not what I actually said. While I do not agree with the political sentiment or any of the political sentiments expressed in ANY of the art displayed that evening, the messages themselves needed no parental notification. It was the display of a V that was over the top for student night.   If a right wing conservative (note the opera had no right leaning art) had an art piece of a V displayed at the opera, my response would have been the same.

I told ALL the reporters and even the opera director himself that I was very political and that I had no problem with them posting their political art all over-- remember folks, I didn't even ask that the piece be removed. Just asked that they give parental notification, just as they do for sex education in schools. Once again, I have been honest about my political leanings. I am far right and not embarrassed to share that fact. However, I am able to articulate my points without the use of vulgarity.  Not wanting to see porn is not a political statement.  Even some of my far left-leaning friends wrote letters objecting to the art being displayed without parental notification.

My letter to the paper (we'll see if it gets published!):

 "Love the "Ambushed" reader comment. Do liberals ever listen or do they only hear what they want to hear? 1) The political comments at the opera did not bother me AT ALL.... they have the right to express their political views even when I disagree 2) They have the right to display a V at their opera, I didn't say they should remove it 3) PARENTAL notification is required for SEX EDUCATION-- should not the opera have given parental notification? 4) "Ambushed" letter writer, Rick Mashburn, you get an A plus for being so astute in your observations. Yes, I am the same Pattie Curran. Notice at the Stand Up For Religious Freedom Rally WE stood up for our first amendment rights using our first amendment rights WITHOUT any vulgarity. Men, women and children were protesting that day and there was not a single display of objectionable material or art. Imagine that-- we can articulate our positions without objectifying women. What a novel idea! Pattie Curran"

Good gravy. Liberals need to get a grip. Yes, I am conservative and disagree with the entire message of the art-- note that I didn't mention the pro-homosexuality piece or the Obama piece-- who cares if I agree or disagree with the message. Like I've said over and over-- even at ADULT night, my reaction would have been different. It was not appropriate for the Piedmont Opera to display a V on Student Night without parental notification. For this Mr. Mashburn to say I wasn't honest is unconscionable. I told everyone exactly where I stood and even told the opera director himself that it wasn't the pro-Obama message that was the problem. It was the vulgarity and the art I considered porn being displayed on Student night. Can you imagine what the left would do if Rush Limbaugh displayed Vs at one of his events to get his political points across? Oh, right, there's always that double standard-- they can do it, but the right can't. Darn... always gets in the way..... that we have a sense of decorum and have moral convictions.

Made the Editorial Page

Wow... so it is still going on-- people are talking about me, the art and the opera. The only comment I have to the writer is: we live in a democratic republic and not a democracy....

http://www2.journalnow.com/news/opinion/2012/mar/20/wsopin01-editorial-art-displayed-at-the-opera-quot-ar-2062074/

I don't feel persecuted at all. I really don't care what people say about me and if they speak ill of me, I don't feel persecuted. Again, the comments might be vulgar. The left kind of goes overboard with the vulgarity, in my opinion.

V versus the Who ha

Wow, who knew it would be such a hot topic. I received a funny, but vulgar comment this morning. I can't post it on my blog, but it is worth writing about.

So, why did this crazy Catholic woman opt to use "who ha" instead of the "V" word? To answer the angry commenter from this morning, I used it for several reasons. The first reason being that the news reporter said not to use it on air. I figured if they can't use it on the news, I shouldn't use it on my blog-- it might get blocked by certain software, too. I would ask that you angry folks on the left get a sense of humor! Really, you are angry because in my video I used the phrase "who ha"? (Note: if you comment using the V word in full, your comment will not be published. If you are vulgar in ANY way, your comment will not be published)

One lady commenting asked why I was afraid of the V word. I'm not afraid of the V word. My children know the V word. We use the V word in appropriate situations. I don't believe ladies and gentlemen use the V word over and over again in public discourse. It just isn't polite to talk about them and display pictures (art or otherwise)of them in public unless you are, perhaps, at an OB/GYN conference. Or if you are in public and a woman should have a life threatening issue with her V or go into labor, one might talk to arriving EMTs using the V word. I've had to use the V word when going to the doctor with elderly women. I'm not "afraid".

As another example to this situation, my children know the P word. However, we do not walk around talking about their Ps. If one of my boys happens to forget he is in boxers, yes, I have said that they need to check their P because their mother doesn't need to see that. When my one son has had abscesses on his P, we called it a P when speaking to the doctor (he is immune compromised, so he gets abscesses and infections). That being said, we don't look at pictures of Ps outside of sex education or human anatomy class, we don't display them and we don't talk about Ps in public.

Really? Do we, as a society, lack all decorum? I really do not understand why anyone would be so upset over my using the term "who ha" Again, I am not trying to censor anyone-- nope-- if you want to use the V word or plaster Vs all over your home, business, etc... feel free to do so. If, however, you market ANYTHING to a group of students, I think it would be POLITE to let the parents know you have Vs hanging up.

Why are people so offended over politeness? Is politeness really something to become angry over?

Some people were worried that my children were not "educated" and that they would have a strange sexuality. No, they know about the birds and the bees and are educated. Thanks for your concern, but we really don;t need your input on how to raise our children. This is the same reason we felt the V at the opera was wrong-- we don;t need an opera director and and artist challenging our children to think about that which we consider to be vulgar. We actually want them to have a HEALTHY sexuality and NOT a perverse porn problem later in life.


Just a warning-- if you go to the sites below, there are vulgar comments (unless they have been removed by the webmaster)
WSJ article: http://www2.journalnow.com/news/2012/mar/16/wsmain01-opera-patron-voices-concerns-over-artwork-ar-2049915/

WXII interview: http://www.wxii12.com/video/30687414/detail.html

I LOVE the Anger of the Liberal Left

Wow.. the comments and FB messages. Gotta love the anger of the liberal left. They completely miss the point. Over and over again they kept saying I was trying to censor the art and called me and my children all sorts of vile things. One woman said, "Did you see that woman's blog? She is very political, she did this to make a political statement."

Um, no..... as I said it before and I will say it again, the political statements did not bother me ONE bit. I do not agree with the artist's political statement, but that was not why I suggested it would have been appropriate for the opera to let parents know there was a V piece on display. I did not request the piece be moved, just asked that they notify the public that such a piece was being displayed at student night. That would enable parents the CHOICE to opt out of seeing the vulgar piece of art.

Let's begin here: Parents must consent for their children to receive sex education at school. They can opt out. The opera directer said he felt the piece was appropriate because they have illustrations in the sex ed materials. SO, the opera director took the liberty of assuming every child's parent had already consented to the public school system's sex education program.

Had she had her statement about the aspirin between the knees with a picture I didn't consider to be porn, I would be fine with that. There were several pieces -- and they each made a political statement. ALL of them were left of center viewpoints. Had the person who made the anonymous comment below read any of my posts, this person would know that the abstract sexual piece wasn't something that I felt needed parental notification (other parents may feel differently) -- it was abstract -- the building in the picture posted in this comment is ABSTRACT.

Anonymous comment:
"How can you let your children outside when THIS vulgarity is on display 24/7 in the middle of your beloved community?
http://bagelofeverything.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/cockovia.jpg?w=250
This must be torn down so that the 18 year olds don't have to feel inadequate."

Several friend saw the picture of the V and said there is no doubt that this is the opening of a woman's V. The anatomical parts are all there. One woman commented that she saw the V and thought it was fine for her child. Good for her. If the opera had told her, she could still have CHOSEN to see the V with her child. NO one, including myself, is trying to take away the V piece. Notification, that's all we felt would be appropriate.

There was an Obama piece, too. It was very weird, but he wasn't naked. I did not agree with the political statements, but hey... whatever. My children didn't particularly think it was very artistic (we had an opportunity to discuss the art on the way home from the opera) In fact, my husband and I laughed when my youngest said something like, "That one picture where they used a can for the man's private and the bolt for the girl's, that was just dumb. Why would anyone want to do that?" He said this before any of us even mentioned the "art", which lead us into discussing some of it on the journey home.


Again, NONE of the political statements would have caused me to speak up. It was the fact that the political statement came with a woman's V that caused me to act. AND... if this was an ADULT opera, I would have said, "WOW, that's weird," and moved on. However, this was STUDENT night and I didn't feel it was appropriate for minors to see without the consent of a parent. Can the Piedmont Opera post a Playboy Centerfold in their lobby on student night if they call it "art"?

The Pro-Choice Society

I've been thinking about the who ha at the opera quite a bit. Do we REALLY live in a society that thinks it is okay to expose kids to pornographic images without notifying parents first? Folks, let's call that image what it is: it is pornographic. It is degrading, it is demeaning to women. Some people may call it art, but it is far from art-- it was a realistic portrayal of the opening of a woman's who ha. (I say who ha because while I don't think the V word is an awful word, I'd prefer not to say or write the V word over and over again)

In a world that seemingly pushes choice, the left seems to think that choice only pertains to them. They think they have the right to CHOOSE to kill a baby in the womb. They think they have a right to force the Catholic Church to pay for contraception and abortion drugs against its religious teachings. They think have a right to choose what images children are exposed to-- in the name of art, of course.

Those of us on the right, the Christian right, are made fun of because we'd CHOOSE not to expose our children to images that are degrading to women. We'd CHOOSE not to expose them to disgusting, vile, pornographic art. Let me be VERY clear here, this was not a tastefully done French nude painting. This was an obnoxious, in your face, opening to a woman's who ha. While I am not a big fan of any nude paintings, certainly, there are pieces that are tastefully done AND I have the God-given right to avoid them and to choose whether or not my minor children are allowed to see them.

We are talking about MINORS, not adults. Certainly, adults can discern what they like about the vile piece of art work. Children should not be exposed to what is considered by some to be porn without first notifying parents. Is it really that hard for the pro-choice society to give parents a choice?

I am all for the first amendment. I am all for political statements. Just about every single piece was a political statement from the left (they all had signs with words). I really do not care if Piedmont Opera leans to the left and supports Obama. I don't go there for political reasons, I go there to see Opera. I don't go there to see the art displays, I go there to see Opera. However, that being said, I would expect that the Opera would display some level of decorum. Especially on Student Night (read: lots of minors present). Does the Opera and the artists it commissions lack decency? If you want to enter public discourse with hot-button topics, could you do so without the vulgarity? Really? Has our society come to the point that we can no longer make PUBLIC political statements without vulgar images and language?

Lastly, make fun of me and those of us who teach our children modesty, chastity and purity. I expect it from the left. You see, I am used to the mockery and vulgar words. When my now 18 year old didn't know the C word when he was 16, I was lambasted in a public forum and made fun of. Why does a 16 year old need to know the words that spew forth from Bill Maher's mouth? We want to raise articulate children who are able to get their points across without filth. We want a civil society. The left wants those of us on the right to be tolerant of the choices they make, while at the same time, they (not all) feel they have a right to keep us from practicing what we believe. If a parent wants to expose their children to vulgar art-- that is a choice they make, but it should never be forced upon our families without our consent. I'm not trying to raise the village. I'm just trying to raise my own children. The pro-choice society needs to back off and let me raise my children as I see fit.

Who Ha and the Opera

Below is my response to the Director of the Piedmont Opera and the artist who felt it was appropriate to display such filth at Student Night at the Opera. The TV station didn't even show the artwork on TV, THAT says it all. (Note: I use the word who ha because I wasn't allowed to use V on TV and I don't think V should be splattered all over my blog. Lastly, it adds a bit of humor to a pretty disgusting topic) Feel free to post comments, but posts that are vulgar will not be approved. Unlike Piedmont Opera, I will allow differing points of view, however, I will not allow ANY views to be posted if they contain vulgarity.

I am all for first amendment rights and the artist is free to attack the Catholic Church with her art and words. They should respect the rights of parents to opt out! ARRRGH The reason I speak of the "persecution" and Catholic Church in my response to his interview is because he used the "persecution" notion to support the Opera's choice to display the V.

Those of you who are angered about my use of who ha, read my post here


Who Ha and the Opera from Pattie Curran on Vimeo.

To see my interview on WXII, go to this link: http://www.wxii12.com/video/30687414/detail.html