Letters, Jan. 7, 1980

The Who

To the Editors:

The Who [Dec. 17] is pure energy. After a concert, the band is drained and the audience is drained. Rock is as important and effective an outlet for energy as is sports. To paraphrase Pete Townshend, rock is the only thing that can verbalize the frustrations of youth and at the same time give you the vehicle to dance the trouble away.

Glenn S. Hall

Camillus, N. Y.

How much I would give to have been born sooner so I could have followed The Who for its whole career. Its music, rock 'n' roll without compromising intelligence and wit, is as timeless as Beethoven and the Beatles.

Robin McElfresh

Houston

The violently destructive message that The Who and other rock groups deliver leaves me little surprised that they attract a mob that will trample human beings to death to gain better seats. Of greater concern is a respected newsmagazine's adulation of this sick phenomenon.

E. Thomas Szappanos

Coraopolis, Pa.

While standing in the crowd at Riverfront Coliseum, I distinctly remember feeling that I was being punished for being a rock fan. My sister and I joked about this, unaware of the horror happening around us. Later, those jokes came back to us grimly as we watched the news. How many lives before the punitive and inhuman policy of festival seating at rock concerts is outlawed?

Carole Singleton

Cincinnati

Hating the U.S.

Has the Ayatullah Khomeini no way of uniting his so-called religious nation other than through the common hatred of the U.S. [Dec. 10]? If that is all he can give the Iranian people, besides a 13th century lifestyle, then perhaps they should refrain from their incessant demonstrating and make a closer examination of Khomeini and his policies.

Diane W. Clark

Austin

I'm quite surprised the Ayatullah Khomeini hasn't blamed the U.S. for the recent earthquakes in northeastern Iran —or maybe he just hasn't thought of it yet.

Bruce Stevenson

Paradise Valley, Ariz.

I find it incredible that you published an article in which you admitted that the Shah used torture and murder to sustain his regime, and then excused him for those deeds because he wasn't as bad as Hitler. Well, my God—who is? How inhuman does a despot have to be for his evil to outweigh his usefulness?

Julie Bennington

Indianapolis

A Foreign Menace

It is a great shame that Hugh Sidey, in his article "The Shape of Things to Come" [Dec. 17], regards the rekindling of a warlike spirit in the U.S. as a matter for rejoicing. I have two sons, and I do not think the possibility of war a matter to rejoice about. It seems to me that Sidey is advocating doing exactly what Khomeini is doing, using a "foreign menace" to help his people forget about their real economic problems.

Rosalinda Perez

Garnerville, N. Y.

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