Provocative paint

The article by Reed Johnson about Colombian painter Fernando Botero seems to raise as many questions as it answers.

Where was Botero’s outrage when Hussein’s “injustice” went way beyond anything Americans did at Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo? How many prisoners have Americans beaten to death, or taken out in large groups, shot in the back of the head and buried in mass graves? How many children have Americans blown up while the kids approached unsuspecting soldiers for candy? How many heads have Americans sawed off for the camera? How many train commuters, or high-rise office workers have Americans blown up?

Botero’s selective outrage is a little astonishing.

Larry A. Carstens

Castaic

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How wonderful of the L.A. Times to highlight Botero’s paintings on Abu Ghraib “prison abuse.” I suggest that if Botero wants to make a meaningful political statement he should paint pictures of suicide bombers blowing up hundreds of Iraqis every month and Palestinians trying to blow up Israelis. For prisons, maybe he should go visit the ones in Iran and North Korea, which make Abu Ghraib look like a kindergarten class.

Larry Post

Beverly Hills