Blaming All Our Ills on ‘Gangsta Rap’

It appears that Time Warner may be considering selling its entire music division to avoid the political heat over some “gangsta rap” albums (“The Talk at Time Warner: Music Division May Get Ax,” June 7). The attacks on Time Warner should be seen for what they are--a dangerous scapegoating of the entertainment industry rather than a thorough consideration of the causes leading to violence in our society.

We should be wary of self-serving, blacklist-inducing rhetoric by those who would let assault weapons proliferate and our cities decompose. The argument that kids kill because of gangsta rap is transparently simplistic. All of us should broaden our focus to the full range of problems that lead young people to harm one another.

CAROL PLOTKIN

Executive Director

American Jewish Congress

Los Angeles