Barr Strikes Out Singing the Anthem
The brunt of criticism for Roseanne Barr’s “rendition” of the national anthem the other night at Jack Murphy Stadium should go to the San Diego Padre management--not to her, and even then simply for making a poor choice. The question, it seems to me, is not whether she meant to insult the fans (I’ve seen her make that gesture before as part of her act), but whether she meant to insult the anthem itself. I doubt it very much.
She is a comedienne, and it is her job to entertain people. A person has a right to sing the national anthem any way they want, and if the Padre management chose to, they could have had Charles Manson or members of the Ku Klux Klan out there in front of the mike. People should realize that there was no harm intended, accept their apology, and let it go at that.
RICK ZABEL
West Los Angeles
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