Readers write

Mock trial ruling is unfair

The controversy about whether to allow a team with Jewish students to compete in the National High School Mock Trial competition taking place in Georgia boils down to one issue: fairness.

It is unfair to make a team that cannot compete on its Sabbath choose between its religion or participation. It is unfair that the national mock trial organization has refused to seriously consider accommodating these students. And it is unfair that the Georgia Bar has determined that it is unable to protect the students’ rights, all of which has sullied our state’s welcoming reputation.

Though the competition begins today, there is still time to do the right thing for these students. Let’s hope the real lesson they take away from Georgia is that when people stand up to unfairness, justice will prevail.

Elizabeth Price, Southeast Regional Board Chair, Anti-Defamation League

Adults must answer for bullying

I read with great distress the story of the 11-year-old who took his own life for allegedly being taunted, bullied and call ‘gay’ by other students. I consider this a tragedy beyond belief.

Years ago, as a student in school, I was taunted, bullied and physically assaulted by fellow students. I guess being a smaller, less physically fit student with “non-jock” interests qualified me as a target. Even though I reported the behavior and on occasion it was witnessed by faculty members, nothing was done to make it stop.

Yes, I survived and am probably a more forgiving and kind person today because I know what being tormented is like. However, I will carry the scars for the rest of my life. But I guess I am lucky I had the fortitude to survive.

Until parents, faculty and administrators are held not only civilly but criminally liable, I doubt it will ever cease. I find it interesting that if a parent or teacher were to inappropriately touch a child they risk prison time, yet they can witness, and in some cases encourage bullying and physical assaults, and it might be considered no more than a breach of policy.

Understandably the parents will probably file a civil suit against the Dekalb County School System, and every taxpaying citizen will contribute to a settlement or judgment —- so I guess you and I are now the victims of a bully.

Josh Hamilton, Atlanta

‘Bush-bashing’ is likely to go on for a while

A letter writer has complained about “Bush-bashing” some three months after George Bush left office. Well, they had better get used to it. After all, it took us Democrats 40 years to quit “Hoover-bashing.”

Mike Canfield, Atlanta

Governor’s prosecution was politically motivated

The case against former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman was so flawed, and largely politically motivated, that his conviction cries out for reversal. Furthermore, it cries out for investigation of very likely prosecutorial misconduct, and the evidence for that also calls for thorough impartial and objective investigation, to the extent such a thing is possible in our sadly polarized country.

Tim Johnson, Decatur

Lesson of hit-run arrests: Always tell the truth

The tragic accident that took the lives of five people on Camp Creek Parkway on Easter was catastrophic, to say the least. However, what I find just as horrific are the actions taken by the young woman who caused it. Understandably, she was in a state of shock and was not thinking rationally after the accident. But who would go to the lengths of fleeing the scene of the accident, not confessing to the crime for almost two weeks, having the car repaired, and then changing the license plate?

In today’s society, the actions of this young woman personify the mentality of far too many people, young and old, who steal, sell drugs and kill. And as long as they don’t get caught, it’s okay.

I do have compassion for this young woman - for her life, too, has been destroyed. I am sure that she did not leave her home on a mission to take the lives of five people. But my heart feels the deepest pain and sorrow for those whose lives were cut short on a day that should have had a joyous ending for them. Hopefully, Ms. Michael and her mother learned a powerful and painful lesson: Always tell the truth.

Joan Nelson Hood, Atlanta

‘Competition’ doesn’t ensure affordable health care

Wayne Oliver gives us the usual blather we get from sickness profiteers, (“Government intervention stifles competition, innovation,” @issue, April 23.) And he makes his pronouncements as though they were natural laws: “All Americans want health care coverage.” No, when they get sick or injured, they want to be treated, and all but a tiny percentage understand they must pay a substantial percentage of their income for it. “All Americans like choice.” No, they simply want good care at a fair price.

The so-called “competition” among providers does not guarantee the affordability of that care. “Americans who like their current health insurance coverage should be able to keep it.” Yes, those wealthy enough would indeed like to keep their “concierge” service. “Those without coverage should have the freedom to choose the most appropriate plan that fits their specific needs and that of their family.” As a child I learned that all humans are subject to broken bones if they fall. All bleed if they step on broken glass.

What then does “fits their specific needs” mean? Aren’t the biological needs of all human beings the same?

We’ve had a private health care system in this country since 1776, but we are still suffering under the tyranny of a despotism that lavishes health care on the “friends of the court ” and severely rations that care to the rest of us.

Harris Green, Big Canoe