Sandi replies:

Ankesh, I think your observations are very astute and right on the money.

Michael, while I appreciate what you tried to say regarding government involvement, let me ask you this question: Supposing, instead of the Spanish government it had been a huge group of the most influential designers who got together and decided that they would no longer show their clothing designs on skeletons and that real people are who they should be showing off? Would that make any difference in your support of their move? Just wondering.

You see, it's not about government versus non-government, it's about improving the mental health of the people served...whether it's the government doing the serving or individual groups of people, such as fashion designers.

There are places where people come first...and those people live happy, contented lives well into their 90's and beyond. It's not perfect...nothing ever is...but they beat the odds over most societies. The one thing such societies have in common is support for people AS THEY REALLY ARE, not as some head-in-the-clouds group of politicians or goody-two-shoes, or manipulative mavens of any type would decree. THIS is what I am supporting: getting people back on solid terra firma instead of wishful thinking.

If it takes a government decree to get the ball rolling, I'm all for it. I'd prefer that people take it upon themselves to make the fundamental changes necessary for a mentally healthy and stable society but whatever it takes, within reason, to get us back to sanity in an insane world, let's go for it.

Sandi Bowman