THE EDITOR, Sir:

I disagree with those who pour scorn on the use of the Carnival photo on Page A1 of Monday's Gleaner, April 16. Carnival has become a widely accepted event on the entertainment calendar in Jamaica, as in many other Caribbean territories. I'm no fan of carnival myself, and would criticise any close member of my family who ever took part.

But I have to respect the rights of others, numbering in the thousands or tens of thousands, who go jump bacchanal, cover themselves in paint, or gyrate in the streets. It's a public, sanctioned event, and thus there is no reason why it should not be carried on television or represented in photographs in newspapers.

The connection between carnival on the one hand, and HIV/AIDS and teenage pregnancy on the other, is brainless, or disingenuous at best. Carnival may very well have contributed to some level of moral decay in our society, but so too have politicians, deejays, wayward priests and pastors, not to mention deacons. The argument is a non-sequitur.

Also, 'Roll it, gal' is a line in a very popular carnival song, and is in no way derogatory to women. Gal in Jamaican parlance is not only a term of disrespect. It is also used for mere reference. Surely the Honourable Miss Lou wasn't dissing women when she wrote "long time, gal, me neva see you."

I am, etc.,

A.A. Wright

Kingston