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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 10, 2008

Attitudes Must Change

After watching the CNN series, "Black in America," I would like to say that with the time allotted and the vastness of the black experience in America, a very good job was done. We must start somewhere and rather than degrade the first step, we must help prepare the second step.

The program pointed to some painful truths that we, as a black people, must deal with. The invisible fathers, teenage pregnancy, incarceration, high school dropouts and many, many more. There are things that we must do ourselves without waiting on some savior to come and liberate us. We, as a people, must get beyond waiting for some social program, designed by the very system that we are accusing, to come and save us.

This is not a hate letter, nor am I upset at anyone. It's just difficult when we, "both blacks and whites," are products of a system that cuts like a double-edged sword.

Laws have been passed and social programs instituted to deal with the black perspective, and we are still plagued with ever-greater crisis because this is only one half, the down stroke. The institution of slavery not only scarred the people that it oppressed on the downward swing, but cut through the fabric of the people used to do the oppressing on the upward swing. So, until we realize that the people who enforce the policies and oversee the programs are just as psychologically damaged as the black people that these laws and programs are designed to help, no lasting progress is made.

In other words, after generations of false superiority of your race; misdirected hatred against other races; you are told it is over.

One morning you are told to love the person you kicked yesterday; that the person you felt better than because they are black is equal to you. That you are to judge a person by their character, not by the color of their skin, sounds very good and humane; however, one must realize these are scars that don't go away by writing a new law. The new law will stop the sword from cutting any new wounds, but the old wounds are still there.

To get past them, both sides have to be looked at and both sides must truly stop making excuses and find solutions. Solutions that do not just try to compensate blacks for the injustices of the past, but also educate whites, especially men, of the damage slavery had on them. This will help the subconscious racism that comes out when a black moves next door or wants to date your daughter. Things like these bring racism to the forefront and good white people's attitude changes.

Don Imus was removed from the radio for a very short period for making racist remarks and is now back on; Dog the Bounty Hunter was removed from the television for a very short time for making racist remarks about his son's black girlfriend and is now back on. This is the kind of insensitivity that too many whites do not understand because they have been exposed to it all their lives, so what's the problem?

In 1970, the Department of Defense recognized that we have a major race relations problem in America and it was affecting our military since the armed forces comes out of our racist communities. In an attempt to solve some of the problems, the Department of Defense created the Race Relations Institute and educated facilitators with women's history, Native American history, black history, Mexican American history and contemporary problems facing our society. We can pass laws to control one's behavior, but it is education that changes the attitude, the true race equalizer.

We need to institute a similar contemporary history workshop from 18 to 25 hours long for public employees (schoolteachers, policemen, public defenders, social workers, etc.), who are the first line of defense in changing attitudes; but their attitude must be changed first.

John Mobley

Brooksville

Don't Lower Drinking Age

Re: About 100 college presidents have signed on to an effort to lower the drinking age to 18.

How sad that they want to lower the drinking age to 18. Those young kids, or should I say young adults, that are in and starting college, get to drinking on college campus. They start fights and destroy things or damage buildings, etc.

If those college presidents and deans would just expel or kick those students out of the college, there wouldn't be so much drinking going on, as others would see that you can be expelled and kicked out.

The parents would not be happy, but that's the way it should be. The cost of one year of college is so costly; and mommy and daddy would have to understand that if their little darlings do any drinking, they have to pay for it and should be expelled or kicked out. No, the drinking age should not be lowered, as all it does is cause so many problems and those that drive, too.

I am sure many people will agree with me.

Kay Locey

Brooksville

Tax Reductions Working

Because People Aren't

I don't know what the Democrats keep crying about. They claim that the Bush tax cuts were all just a lie. Well, I'm here to tell you that not only did President Bush and the Republican Party keep their promise, they reduced my taxes and many other American's taxes all the way down to nil.

Since the Republicans entered the White House, many Americans lost their jobs and are no longer paying income taxes. Many more have lost their homes and no longer pay hefty property taxes. With little or no income, fewer of us can afford to purchase anything and are avoiding paying sales taxes. Having fewer jobs to get back and forth to has had the benefit of avoiding paying taxes imposed on gas purchases, as well as reducing consumption. This has had the added benefit of reducing greenhouse emissions, making President Bush the greenest leader in the western world. In your face Al Gore!

I wish all the Democrats would just quit their whining, after all America isn't perfect, but it's the best there is in the world. Besides, it's a free country, if you don't like it you can always leave. God help us if Barrack Obama were elected, that socialist might just ruin the economy!

Lorne DeWitt

Brooksville

Throw The Bums Out

In response to Al Drzewiecki about high taxes, I hear people moan and groan, whine and cry and read about the same thing, he says. I hear them complain about the people in office doing a terrible job. That they should all be thrown out of office, etc.

But when election time comes around, who do they vote for? Why the same people that they say should be thrown out of office. It happens time and time again. That is why we have the government that we have today.

Voters are more afraid of change than they are of the people who are in office now. So don't blame the officials. Blame the person that you see in your mirror. For that is the person who is really at fault. You want change? Vote for it.

Richard Nicks

Spring Hill

Succession Of Power

Re: John Reiniers' column, "Toddler or Tottering?" in the Sept. 5 edition of Hernando Today.

I think he may have gotten the succession of presidency incorrect. After the vice president, the speaker of the house is next in line should the vice president become incapacitated also. After the speaker comes the president pro tempore.

Leo Dougherty

Brooksville

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