Jason Sprinkle -- Sprinkle Is No Cultural Hero

I knew it was coming - comments about Jason Sprinkle's metal heart art such as, "This has got to be the best day for public art in Seattle since the `Hammering Man' fell over. He is a cultural hero."

I guess when one is strictly into "Whatever turns you on, the rest of the world be damned" mode, nothing and no one else in life really matters. I can assume for individuals who are into "feel good," it would not have mattered if someone was killed in the process of "Hammering Man" falling over. Nor would that individual blink an eye over the fact that purposely disabling one's vehicle downtown is, in itself, a presumptive act assuming everyone else would love a broken-down dump of a truck in a favorite public resting and relaxation place (with or without the art). I would also surmise when one's artistic expression is paramount, the word "bomb" written on a disabled truck's fender means little in context to the loss of innocent children and adults who have previously been blown to bits in Oklahoma and other random acts of "bomb" terrorism around the world. And, it surely must be the fault of the Seattle Police Department that hours of disruption occurred because their sworn duty to protect and defend the general public was not summarily dismissed for the sake of one individual's self-righteous artistic endeavor.

Jason Sprinkle is no cultural hero. He is an expression of a greater ill which dictates the course of too many whose actions are based upon what feels good at the moment, not upon what might be morally, socially or legally responsible. I wonder how much sympathy Mr. Sprinkle would have gotten if he had chosen to "display" his masterpiece at Sea-Tac International Airport on the airport drive.

Sandy Kempe Snohomish