Undo the Undue Influence

According to Times contributor Steve Hochman, Marilyn Manson is clearly “the right man for the job for today’s teens” (“The Dark Side,” Jan. 27). Hochman concludes that Manson’s chant of “we hate love, we love hate”; his constant sacrilege and warning to his followers not to be “oppressed by the fascism of Christianity,” his spewing of constant profanities and autoeroticism are just the right medicine for today’s teens. Oh.

His logic makes sense. He suggests that none of these issues really matters because it is all just a make-believe show in the great tradition of rebellious rockers like Alice Cooper and KISS. Heck, I guess Marilyn’s act is not a whole lot different than those long-haired Beatles or Elvis’ gyrations if you really think about it.

Gosh, all along I thought he was a negative influence. I suppose now I’ll have to pull my kids out of church activities and burn their Amy Grant CDs so they can grow up healthy with Mr. Manson. I feel like such a fool. I thought such negativity could only lead to things like rebelliousness, drug use and serious teen depression. Perhaps my children can now cavort with such outstanding young men and women pictured in Hochman’s article!

JIM URBANOVICH

Santa Clarita