ART: Let decency prevail

Last time I checked, I lived in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho — not New York City, not Los Angeles. I thought I lived in a town that respected decency and good will toward your neighbor. A town where you can take your kid for a walk down main street without being offended.

A group of concerned people respectfully asked a shop owner to remove from her front window a display that they found deeply offensive, a display that includes nudity and a scary depiction of one of the most revered images of the Blessed Mother in the world. Instead of being respectful to her neighbors, the shop owner decides to allow the display to continue in the front window in order to defend “free speech” or “freedom of expression.” So much for small town courtesy and values. Because of this lack of neighborly charity, I will not be visiting or purchasing anything from Spirit Gallery.

This is not an issue of free speech. The artist is free to create what he wills, the shop owner may display the same within obscenity limits. This instead is an issue of being respectful, kind and charitable, i.e. neighborly. I thought those were things that Coeur d’Alene would want to be known for and promote. Instead it’s going for edgy, disrespectful and heartless. That is not something I want to be a part of and, if that is what downtown is becoming, count me and my family out.

DIANNE HERZ

Coeur d’Alene