John Derbyshire went to the Met last night. He was a guest of Jay Nordlinger, who was presumably attending in his adopted role as critic. Thus the U.S. Taxpayer subsidized Mr. Derbyshire, a fact with which I would have no problem had he actually learned something. Sadly, Not.
Instead he complains of the "Soft Porn" in an advertisement for perfume in Playbill. He gives us the address of the publisher, so that we can all write and express our outrage. Even as he significantly underestimates the price of "$200 for a good seat in the orchestra," you can be sure he is trying to protect young people who have saved up their allowance to pay for a seat.
He did praise the Opera, the story of the Virgin Priestess, Norma, who has secretly married and borne children by Pollione and who threatens to kill the kids when she finds out that he is boinking another Virgin Priestess.
This might seem to be a bit dirtier than a photo of a woman in lingerie, and it certainly is pretty mild stuff compared to some of the operas performed at the Met, which Derbyshire considers "a main center for the transmission of western culture in the U.S." A part of their repertoire is Iphigenie en Tauride, in which:
Orestes has slaughtered his mother to punish her for killing his father Agamemnon. Now he in turn is to be sacrificially slain by his sister Iphigenia, who must fulfill a vow made to the unforgiving gods. In despair, Orestes snuggles up to his blood-brother Pylades, exemplifying what used to be known as 'Greek love'
Like a Judge Supreme, Derbyshire knows soft porn when he sees it. Ezra Klein accurately characterized one his posts:
So John Derbyshire, in his continuing quest to convince us all he's a pervert*, is back with a defense for his argument that women become saggy old bags after age 20. 15-20, he believes, are their "salad days," assumedly the period when they go best with cherry tomatoes and a light vinaigrette
Derbyshire offers proof for his position on the attractiveness of youth by reciting rape statistics. I think he goes astray when he discusses the rape of those younger than 11, but we are all entitled to our opinions.
Or in Derbyshire's case, entitled to our hypocrisies. At least he's not an elitist.
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