Letters to the Editor for July 22, 2013

Published: Monday, July 22, 2013 at 6:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, July 20, 2013 at 11:30 p.m.

Prejudice at work

Prejudice is a destructive state of mind. Although it is easy to recognize in others, it is difficult to recognize in ourselves.

One test is to reverse roles and see how it feels.

Let's assume you're a 17-year-old kid staying with a family member on the South Side of Chicago. It is night and you are walking to your relatives home, and you sense you are being followed by someone. You take evasive action, then turn a corner and are confronted by the person following you, who is a black guy about your height but about 50 pounds heavier.

I would be willing to bet that your reaction would be highly dependent on whether you are white or black. If you are black, your reaction would probably be a little apprehensive because the guy was following you. If your white, you would be very apprehensive — if not very scared.

What happens next would be highly dependent on the guy in the car. If he introduces himself as the head of the Neighborhood Watch Program and offers you a ride home, all would end well. They both might have made a new friend. But if something was said or done that caused a confrontation, anything might happen.

We don't know who caused the confrontation or if either party made a serious attempt to resolve it. Was it likely that a scared 158-pound teenage kid or a 200-plus-pound man with a gun, who has ordained himself protector of the neighborhood, that caused the confrontation? If you find it difficult to give a credible answer to that question, the next question to ponder is: Why would a kid in a strange neighborhood create a confrontation with a bigger guy, particularly if he would have identified himself as the head of the neighborhood watch program?

It was a terrible thing that could easily have been avoided.

Robert Lott


A scheme and a scam

With regard to the letter July 14, “Climate insurance,” I have to take issue.

First, the writer states that 97 percent of scientists believe that the use of fossil fuel contributes to climate change. That is the only way they can get grant money to keep their playgrounds, er, um, labs funded.

Second, there is also the issue of “fossil fuel,” which in and of itself is nonsense. Others say it is abiotic and replenishes. Peak oil supply was hyped about a decade ago, yet more and more oil reserves are being discovered.

What I really take umbrage with is that the writer suggests, as almost all “green” energy, global warming enthusiasts do, that taxes are the solution to fund research. This is and always has been nothing more than an international wealth redistribution scheme.

I have a solution. Why not put these businesses up for public bid the same way every other company that has anything going for it does. Sell stocks to fund the research.

It seems to me that every time the left comes up with a scheme to redistribute other people's money, their solution is taxation.

Enough with the call for more and more taxes while the leftists of the world nickle and dime the population to death.

By the way, the European nations that got on board for the new green energy schemes are all trying to ween themselves off the proven inefficient wind and solar schemes they bought into, and many are shifting to nuclear.

No other group of companies on earth has tried to scam the public by demanding taxation to fund their research and finance their bottom line, while developing products to sell at a profit as well.

That by itself ought to tell every emotional environmentalist what is truly going on.

If you believe in it so much, go fund it!

James Davis

Silver Springs

Justice and vengeance

The Sanford police announced early on that an investigation had been conducted and there were no grounds for George Zimmerman's arrest. They announced that Zimmerman, acting in his legal capacity as a neighborhood watch person, had been attacked and injured by Trayvon Martin during which time a legally concealed weapon was used in legal self-defense, resulting in young Martin's death.

Immediately, the Al Sharpton-Jesse Jackson gang marched through the streets with “Justice” printed on their banners, but with vengeance in their words. Using the parents of this young man, this gang tossed gasoline on the feelings of Americans nationwide. Pressuring the chief of police to arrest Zimmerman, he refused, citing that it was illegal for him to arrest without justifiable cause. Unsatisfied with the chief's law enforcement experience, he was fired in an attempt for vengeance.

The media instantly seized the prospect of news marketing and gave chase to inflame racial feelings of all colors.

An innocent man was then arrested and jailed for almost 16 months while the media circus and vengeance gang continued efforts to have a trial by proxy. Found innocent, Mr. Zimmerman's future will be as concealed as the concealed weapon, hidden from a career, family events and the like.

Have we actually arrived at a juncture where we're willing to prosecute a person because of their color and not by the facts of the case?

The grief and hurt suffered by the parents of Mr. Martin was so visible one could feel it. The horrifying loss of a child is more than anyone can bear. These intelligent, dignified and humble grieving parents accepted the verdict. Can't we, as a nation of all races, leave justice to the courts and vengeance to God?

Ron McAndrew



▲ Return to Top