Letters to the Editor
Allene Swienckowski
Published Letters: 183 Editor's Choice: 10
-
White People Who Know Black People
[Read the article: Bill Bennett knows black people]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I wonder how many white people think that a black person could really "know" a white person's experience? It's all so tiresome! Black people and their lifestyles, educations, wishes and desires are as different as white people's! Think about the media firestorm that would have erupted if Al Sharpton has been selceted to speak on behalf of all white people about Huckabee's win in Iowa?
Grow up folks! People are people and no one group should accept a single representative to be a symbol for an entire race. But Bill Bennet as a spokesperson for any group, unless a conservative one, is just a bad idea.
-
Race, Obama, Clinton and the White Guy That Made It Happen
[Read the article: More about race and the Democrats]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]You know, the longer I live the more I realize that we keep on fighting the same old battles over and over. Today's journalists maintain electronic data files with the names of so-called "experts" or spokespersons about every issue that passes the national conscience. Case in point, the blacks who were offended by Hillary Clinton's statements about Dr. King and LBJ.
As a black woman I am not surprised that certain black people were offended by Hillary Clinton's statement about Dr. Martin Luther King and LBJ? If you think about it, you don't have to search too far or too long to find a black person of some stature to get offended by something that they may perceive as a slight against Dr. King or about any issue that is supposed to be important to all black Americans collectively. It's the age-old shell game. Stir up the pot enough and you'll find someone to build a fire under it.
Hillary Clinton spoke historical truth. Her statements weren't a denial of Dr. King's life-long work nor were her statements a slight. Dr. King, of all people, knew that he needed white guys in high places to help him to push his agenda forward successfully. Dr. King's movement, in case anyone has forgotten, was supported by whites as well as blacks. Entrenched racsim and its affects aginst people of color in this country needed a concerted efforts of a man with a dream and the people who had access to the ultimate power. Without this marriage between Dr. King and the guys in the White House, Dr. King's dream would not have found fertile ground.
It would be soooo nice if this kind of blatant political BS just never found its way into the MSM. But then of course the MSM thrives on controversy and whatever bleeds.
It would have been nice if Hillary's statement had received the pass that it should have, but the facts are that America still has deep-seated racial issues that aren't really addressed or spoken of in polite company so the journalists have to go out and stir-up political and racial dissension over a non-issue.
-
The Continuing So-Called Deabte on Race
[Read the article: Keeping the race issue alive]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The fact is, Ms. Walsh, that you're right! It is insane and politics, politicians and the media have spun way out of control. Common sense and decency left this arena a long time ago. The "great communicator," Ronald Reagan, was the man who started and condoned disrespect towards those who did not endorse and support his agendas and today it's business as usual for people to snipe at one another...well, just because.
-
Reich's Knowledge
[Read the article: The politics of an economic nightmare]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I have always respected Mr. Reich's economic insight. But I am curious why Mr. Reich didn't add corporate debt to the mix of his analysis? Why hasn't any credible economists or finance pundits uncovered or even addressed the massive debt that corporations have incurred over the last few years? Why have corporate CEO's been allowed to earn 250% more than a line employee while company profits decline.
Investors like Zell who justed completed purchasing the Tribune without using any of his own money or assets and other corporate raiders have weakened our economy more than people who received sub-prime loans. Hedge-fund masters and corporate raiders alike have been and are interested in only one thing - exorbitant profits even at the expense of having the business tank after all profits have been surgically removed. What happended to the days when a corporation's health was based on current assets and future profit projectons? To be sure, the money people who engineered to easy credit schemes in the sub-prime arena are the same people behind the tough credit scheme that is breaking the economic back of this country.
Lenders who made sub-prime loans could do a lot to rescue the people that are in economic hot water. They have the power to not only delay resetting interest rates but they can also defer payments to assist their borrowers. But lenders are more interested in the foreclosed homes and the future profits they'll receive when the market rebounds because real estate will rebound because we have a growing population that needs housing.
Like the issue of corporate welfare versus the poor the need welfare to live, no one seems to care about the massive coporate subprime loans that is surely fueling this recession. And does anyone care? Of course not! It's just "business" as usual.
-
Sustaining Life
[Read the article: I'm a brilliant scientist and I fear for the world's fate]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]As usual, Mr. Tennis, you are brilliant and insightful. Fear has such a nasty way of leeching hope from our souls. If fear becomes the only note that a soul can hear, the soul will long to perish. There is no better perscription the curbed fear: live, laugh and experience the beauty and mystery of the world that surrounds us.
Thanks, personally and for the troubled scientist.
-
Reaching
[Read the article: I'm a high-school dropout in law school and I feel like an impostor!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Ah...Mr. Tennis, even though you're words are quite wise - as usual, but the outcome of the dtruggle is not always left in the hands of the privileged....sometimes, those of us with tenacity breach their ranks because they also need us, the common man.
So, chin up, young blue-collar rebel. Pick a goal, stay focused and remember the fight is difficult for most of us; the fight is even difficult for some of those in the top one percent of the nation. They just don't show their scars as readily as we do.