Residents upset over town library's 'Pimp My Ride'-inspired contest

Some residents have objected to a public library in Racine, Wis., titling a contest aimed at teens "Pimp My Cart."

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The contest, an attempt by the Racine Public Library to attract more teens to the world of books, is a play on the title of popular MTV program "Pimp My Ride," which features a team transforming a less-than-stellar automobile into a tricked-out ride, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported Monday.

"If it brings more kids into reading books and coming to the library, I think it's a good thing," said Racine Alderman Tom Friedel, president of the library's board.

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However, others say the library's use of the word "pimp" is wholly inappropriate.

"To use that terminology," Kit McNally, who runs a Milwaukee program that works with former prostitutes, said to the newspaper, "shows a woeful ignorance of the disastrous effect pimping has on women and girls."

Alderman Greg Helding agreed that the title is inappropriate. He said he isn't planning action against the library, "but I don't think we should look to MTV or teenage culture to set our standards."

"Sometimes you can raise the bar and have (teens) come up to the rest of society, and maybe that's what should have been done here," he told the Journal-Sentinel.