Sounding Off:

To Brady [Rhoades] and all of you so quick to judge,

Your comment started out with “We’re getting hammered about running, front and center, a picture of girl dancers from Endeavor School of the Arts performing at the Fish Fry at Lions Park on Saturday” (“Is this photo too risque?” blog item published June 1).

“Hammered” implies some wacky visions. Was your e-mail box getting overrun? Were your phones ringing off the hook?

Is that why I have been getting nothing but busy signals when calling in? Wow, life must be good to have so much attention on such a news-breaking item.

I don’t think so.

First off, I have seen these children perform on many occasions, and it is a pure delight.

They are talented, dedicated, good-hearted kids that love to dance. And this activity, along with other sports that kids enjoy and work hard at, are to be praised.

All things considered, what took place at the Fish Fry is simply a celebration in art.

For all of us who remember the Fish Fry in years past, it is not the same as it used to be. In the 1970s and 1980s it was a much larger event. Great fun. But if you had a family with young kids, you would most likely stay away after dark. There was a gang element that had to be addressed by all, but, most importantly, by our great Costa Mesa police and the gang units. The event was still fun and raised a ton of money.

The new, smaller event is better than nothing, but nothing compared to the old layout.

The picture in question is a shot of a moment that does very little to illustrate what was going on. These kids are taught to perform with a smile and to be expressive. But the timing of this snap shot caught one of the kids in transition from a difficult move to a really big smile. No different than some of the weird images we are bombarded with in the media today. We have all seem them.

If the photographer had panned or snapped this shot a second later you would have seen 10 girls, spinning, tapping, smiling and looking great, as they do in the picture. These kids have all participated in dance competitions put on by the Seniors of Corona Del Mar at the Oasis Center or on the main stage at the Orange County Fair or when marching in the Balboa Island parade. Three of the girls pictured were awarded a trophy at the last competition that was headed by leaders in the Newport community.

Part of the competition is judged on costume and appearance. There were no negative comments at this event.

So in today’s environment, with many good people out of work, fortunes eroding, sales tax income for the city disappearing, drugs at the schools, peer pressure, gangs, two wars, ridiculous gas prices, the L.A. Times / Daily Pilot struggling to stay afloat and not enough money to pay our police and firefighters, we should cut these kids some slack and praise them for doing something positive.

Mr. Rhoades, I can only imagine that it must have been a very slow news day for all of you to chime in in such a negative manner.

Whatever happened to the statement, “if you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything at all”? It would have worked well in this situation.

Joe Snyder is a Newport Beach resident.