Clothe the naked

The problem is small for Bangor, and a little embarrassing. It’s the sort of thing you might chuckle about if it occurred far away. Try as it might, the city has yet to be able to rid itself of nude-dancing establishments and all the unlovely activity that goes along with them. The City Council, however, is right to keep trying.

Nothing against women trying to make a buck, but nude-dancing — and its cruder cousins that operated here in recent years — are bad news. They are an infringement on the neighborhoods in which they settle and a magnet for worse things. The city is looking for regulations that would contain nude dancing. Even better, it should try to ban it outright. Failing that, the council should limit the industry in every way possible to send an unambiguous message that these businesses are not welcome here.

Downtown Bangor is showing signs of real growth for the first time in years. Several positive, family-oriented stores have opened or relocated there in the last year. A group of citizens hoping to find a home for a children’s museum has considered the downtown as a potential site. Is the city really supposed to encourage 8- and 9-year-olds to visit science exhibits there and nearby allow naked women to gyrate for a bunch of droolers? Even the posters that occasionally adorn these businesses are unacceptable. (“Mommy, why are that man’s eyes bugging out?”)

It’s sad, really, that this line of work has been such a persistent source of employment and amusement in this area, although it is hardly confined to here. Sex (or the implication of sex) for pay will exist at some sub level no matter how many regulations the council imposes. But at least the councilors can limit or remove the tacit approval that the lack of regulations currently gives nude dancing.

The public should encourage the council to stay at it.