End Confederate cycle of racism
Thank you, Bill Torpy, for shining a light on the real Confederate heritage (“At Stone Mountain, how about a Confederate memorial that tells the truth?” News, Oct. 18). Every day I see the legacy of that Confederate heritage. I see it in the eyes of impoverished African-Americans struggling to survive. I see the psychological damage it has caused them. I see the ignorance of those who have no clue what it’s like to have black or brown skin while living in poverty. Yet the calls still go out to support this big lie, this revisionist history.
Emblems of the Confederacy belong in museums where we can remember the horrors that were perpetrated on countless Africans kidnapped from their homes. This is not something that should be celebrated. It is something that should be taught about in our schools with clear, open eyes so our children can begin to break the cycle of racism.
MICHAEL DE GIVE, DECATUR
Distorted view of free enterprise
Professor Dwight Lee extols the virtue of price gouging during natural disasters (“’Price gougers’ satisfy a market need,” Opinion, Oct. 17). He writes, “Price gougers don’t increase the prices disaster victims pay. … It’s natural disasters that cause higher prices by increasing the demand and decreasing the supply of things victims need.” Using his distorted logic, it would be appropriate for a doctor at an urgent care facility to tell parents, “My normal fee to repair you daughter’s chest wound would be $500. Since she had a tree fall on her in a hurricane, however, it will be $30,000. If you can’t pay, please step aside so I can check with the next parents in line to see how high I can get them to go for their kid’s fractured skull. Oh, and that $30,000 — it doesn’t include blood. The Red Cross just called and said it wants $5,000 a bag.” Ah, free enterprise!
DAVID HORGAN, KENNESAW
Official listens to her constituents
I am so grateful for my maverick commissioner, Lisa Cupid (“Commissioner in maverick role,” Metro, Oct. 18). Until Cupid was elected, I never felt like the voices of everyone in District 4 was being heard, and I’ve been here since 1988. Cupid is engaging, involves her constituents in decision-making and protects her district like a mama grizzly. She has always been responsive when you contact her, and she knows many of her constituents by name. I’ve been to several meetings where she stayed long past the end to speak to citizens and address their concerns. Cupid is exactly what her district needs and what I want in a commissioner.
CHERYL VINSON, MABLETON
