Editorial: Centennial commission’s red-letter day

Friday, Nov. 18, 2005 | 7:25 a.m.

Las Vegas Centennial commissioners who are offended by a public mural that will place a scarlet letter on a local library must drive around the rest of the city with their eyes shut.

The 30-foot-tall mural that will be displayed outside the Sahara West Library next year is among 175 the commission is sponsoring in commemoration of Las Vegas' 100th anniversary.

Titled "Scarlet Letter," the $25,000 work depicts a large red "A" painted over the artist's upside-down rendition of a woman featured in a famous 18th century portrait. The mural refers to Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic tale, "The Scarlet Letter," in which a woman suspected of adultery must wear the letter "A" on her clothes.

The commission, which votes only on location of the murals and not their content, approved "Scarlet Letter" 10-6 Monday. But dissenters made it clear they objected to its content. Adultery, they said, is an inappropriate topic for public display in Las Vegas.

They have to be kidding -- or inattentive. This is one of the few cities in America where an ad showing a line of women's bare behinds graces a whole fleet of taxicabs.

Besides, "C" stands for censorship, and that is far more offensive.