Dr. Martin Luther King would be very disappointed about the latest riots in Milwaukee.
We’re going back in understanding and helping each other. Who are the rioters and what do they want?
The dear Lord must’ve known why he made blacks black and whites white. Underneath the skin we’re all the same. I’ve been called “whitey” while I am. So what? If you want to be respected, respect the law, the police and yourselves. Is that so difficult? Every life counts.
How can our problems be solved? Education in our schools has to be improved. Go to school, stay away from drugs and select good friends. Nobody is entitled to live on other people’s hard-earned money.
People have forgotten that black slaves were brought to the South by their own slave traders and sold. This was wrong. Nobody should be a slave.
Even though many blacks are on welfare, food stamps, and out of jobs, they’re better off living in America than Africa.
I’ve had many contacts with blacks. The older ones love the Lord and are very nice.
I’m proud of any black person who works hard, has a good job, has an upper position and there are quite a few. Example: President Obama, Dr. Ben Carson and the list goes on.
If we had martial arts training in schools, the troublemakers would turn into very good students and be examples for others.
We’re all God’s children. He sees and hears everything. Sooner or later we’ll all be in front of him and have to account for our actions.
Here’s my second big issue.
As a child in Germany, I read books about cowboys, soldiers and Indians in the wild West. They were written by a German author, Karl May. He’d never been to America but could he write about them. I was fascinated. The stories made a big impression on me. Since then, I’ve always felt connected to the Indians.
I sponsor two Indian schools in South Dakota and feel loved by the children. I’ve read about the Trail of Tears.
The American government was heartless and wrong for driving the Indians from their lands.
My point: Are they rioting? Are they damaging and looting? Are they shouting, “Try the pigs and beat up whites?”
Let’s get some things straight and worked out. It can be done and has to happen. Otherwise, America will destroy itself from within.
Gisela M. Stearn
Idyllwild
Like other readers of the Town Crier, I’ve suffered through many letters from Ms. Stearns. Most are intolerant, classist and carry the of usual get-off-my-lawn sentiments typical of letters to the editor. The letter published in your August 25th issue, however, was beyond the pale. I felt physically ill after reading this racist rant by someone who, so obviously, lives a life of white privilege and understands virtually none of the daily struggles people of color live with in our country. Her simple solutions to the demands of “blacks” are that they respect the law and the police. While I’m not advocating lawlessness, are there really people left in this country who believe that people of color are treated equally by law enforcement? I could site hundreds of first-hand accounts here but suffice it to say, they are not. Racial profiling is standard practice in many department. Should these young people offer deference and respect to a system which treats them as second-class citizens? Her account of being called “whitey” hardly compares to the day-to-day of young people of color in this country. The heart of protest lies in the fact that most of these young people ARE respecting the law and going about their business, only to be harassed and brutalized by officers and a system which is not held accountable for its brutality.
I felt like I was reading Ku Klux Klan propaganda when she wrote: “even though many blacks are on welfare, food stamps and out of jobs, they’re better off living in America than Africa.” I was speechless. This is disgusting racist drivel. Not only is she so quick to paint the African American community as one of ne’er-do-well hoodlums, but she implies that, they should be grateful because at least they were fortunate enough to descend from ancestors who were enslaved, allowing them the good fortune of living in our country today. It must be better than Africa, right? Disgusting. And she continues on saying that she’s “proud of any black person who works hard, has a good job, has an upper position, there are quite a few…” What saddens me is that I believe she thinks she’s being very giving here, by admitting that there are at least a handful that are worth something. And then goes on to say that she’s “had many contacts with blacks…”she concedes that many “older ONES love the Lord and are very nice”. As though African Americans are some novel species or animal she’s met a few times while traveling. And, Ms. Stearns, I’m afraid that I don’t believe you’ve had “many contacts with blacks” because anyone who has had any degree of lengthy interaction with someone of color would never speak of them in this way. They would understand that the concerns of this movement should be the concerns of us all. Equality should be the goal of free and democratic societies and your racist ignorance displays how far much of this country is from that. I am astounded that, in 2016, there are people who not only harbor this ignorance but feel confident enough in their beliefs that they would feel compelled to share them with the public. It is true that racists NEVER think they are racists. Should one be looking for a contemporary racist perspective, they needn’t look further than this letter written by Ms. Stearns. God help this country if her views are widely shared.