This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Sometimes I get steamed by Tribune articles, but "Critics say line-skipping at theme parks spoiling the fun" (Tribune, June 16), about the new VIP line-skipping tickets for the rich at Universal Studios Hollywood, hit the jackpot.
Some arts events in Salt Lake have VIP seating that would cost a middle-class family a month's salary because it includes a huge "contribution." That's obnoxious. But what do we tell our children and grandchildren if once in a lifetime we take them to a theme park and they ask, "Why do those kids get to go ahead of us on all the rides?"
Disney "has stuck to a single class of ticket," so far, but the marketplace excuse will probably trump its egalitarianism before long. The scariest thing was the mention that health care is similarly becoming elitist and stratified "for those willing to pay."
Republicans scream when Democrats hint at class warfare, but Shrek and SpongeBob SquarePants have been enlisted to raise our children to accept our becoming a class society.
Beverly Terry
Salt Lake City