Nugent wrong for Freeborn Co. Fair
Published 9:00 am Tuesday, March 22, 2016
The mission statement of the Freeborn County Fair Board is this: “It is the aim of the management to have a moral, clean fair which will command the support of the entire community.”
That’s a fine statement, and I have two young children, so I especially appreciate a family-friendly atmosphere.
Imagine my surprise, then, when the Fair Board chose Ted Nugent as the entertainment for Aug. 5. This man is profane, divisive and hateful in his speech, even on stage. Some people like him because he’s conservative, but substitute your favorite politician for Obama and ponder how you would react if Nugent called him or her a “subhuman mongrel” or a “piece of (expletive).”
Nugent has a considerable civility problem, and he’s also nasty in other ways. His song “Jailbait” sums up why I find him far beneath the standards of our fair. Here’s a sample of the lyrics:
“Well, I don’t care if you’re just 13,
You look too good to be true.
I just know that you’re probably clean,
There’s one little thing I got to do to you.
Jailbait you look so good to me…
It’s all right baby, it’s quite all right I asked your mama.
Wait a minute officer; wait a minute officer,
Don’t put those handcuffs on me, what about her?
Hey, I’ll share her with you!”
You read that right, and it’s not “quite all right.” A man who wrote a song in his 30s about wanting to rape a 13-year-old girl is coming to our fair.
Please tell Norm Fredin, the fair manager, what you think about it.
Jennifer Vogt-Erickson
Albert Lea