Readers React: Think ‘bad’ guys are hot? Blame Hollywood.

To the editor: The real Butch Cassidy looked nothing like Paul Newman, but Hollywood cast him anyway along with another good-looking guy, Robert Redford. (“Stockton suspect’s mug shot is textbook handsome,” Column, June 23)

As a society, we don’t embrace reality very often, preferring our heroes and villains to be as attractive as possible. After all, when was the last time an obese person was used in a television commercial for chocolate chip cookies?

So why all the fuss when some women swoon over an arrestee’s mug shot? Is our moral outrage supposed to kick in just because a “hot” guy turns out to be a real-life bad guy?

We aren’t trained that way, and our training from advertising, TV and films has come with a nasty side effect. The warning label might read: “View with extreme caution. Loss of moral outrage, indignation, common sense and basic intelligence may result.”

Philip DiGiacomo, Pacific Palisades