Bob Hope’s Joke About Miss Liberty
John H. Bunzel’s heated condemnation of Bob Hope (Letters, July 30) was unnecessary and unseemly. A letter to the editor should be either constructive or entertaining, but Bunzel’s letter was neither--aside from suggesting strong antipathy toward Bob Hope.
Bunzel grossly overreacted to Hope’s joke about Miss Liberty (the Statue of Liberty) having AIDS: “Nobody knows if she got it from the mouth of the Hudson or the Staten Island Ferry.â€
In his extravagant tirade, Bunzel says: “tasteless and offensive remark . . . worse than obscene . . . abusive and unworthy . . . he was profane . . . sad and shameful . . . besmirch Miss Liberty . . . glibness and vulgarity . . . only brings discredit to him . . . morally crude and indecent language.†Wow!
This patently does not describe the Bob Hope that America knows and loves.
Bunzel also says: “The Statue came through everything with its dignity intact. Regrettably, that is more than can be said for Bob Hope.â€
Bunzel vehemently attacks Bob Hope himself. Why? Would he write this way about somebody he admires? This is a clear case of a letter based on subjectivity and emotion rather than fact and reason.
It is possible to miscalculate innocently in formulating and telling a joke. Bob Hope, who is a real patriot and clearly a very decent person, obviously did not intend to besmirch the Statue of Liberty!
But, it is abundantly clear that Bunzel intended to besmirch Bob Hope.
LEON J. RICKS
Altadena