Rights
Politicians stress some rights, not others
In a recent story in the AJC about the new gun law, Gov. Nathan Deal stated, “People who follow the rules can protect themselves and their families from people who don’t follow the rules. The Second Amendment should never be an afterthought. It should reside at the forefronts of our minds.”
Would that he also applied that reasoning to our right to vote. There are more restrictions on voting than there are on owning a gun.
NORA SUMMERS, BALL GROUND
NBA FUROR
Real racism not found in mere words
I am fascinated with the over-the-top reaction to Donald Sterling’s racist comments? This is an outlier from a bygone era who has an effect on few lives.
Where is the outrage against President Obama and the Democrats in Congress who have gleefully run up billions in debt in five-plus years. And want to spend more. They are borrowing money to buy votes. Eventually our country will go bankrupt or saddle our kids with debt impossible to ever repay.
It is a war on our children and grandchildren. This war includes an opposition to charter schools and vouchers because the teachers’ unions give them money. Countless black children are doomed to failure because of a public school system that does not work for them.
This is the real and meaningful racism. So where is the equivalent rage?
BILL WEBSTER, PEACHTREE CITY
DISCRIMINATION
Affirmative action confusion
Many people do not realize the original rationale for affirmative action and how it fit with the Civil Rights Act prohibiting discrimination based on race or gender, among other things.
As an employee new to human resources in the late 1970s, I learned that it was not enough for employers to not discriminate against people in these “protected classes.” Employers weren’t recruiting in enough places to find qualified applicants, so of course they weren’t hiring the minorities. They were supposed to take “affirmative action” to recruit in places they were likely to find qualified applicants in the protected classes.
Affirmative action was originally supposed to be a recruiting mechanism, not a screening mechanism, and therefore it was not in conflict with the nondiscrimination requirement. Unfortunately, the term later got convoluted into reverse discrimination. I think “the way to stop discriminating on the basis of race” is simply to stop discriminating on the basis of race. Period. The state of Michigan is doing this in state college admissions.
CAROLYN ANGEL, MARIETTA
FEDEX SHOOTING
Guaranteeing obscurity would foil shooters’ delusions
Well the FedEx shooter got his wish, conveniently granted and accommodated by every news outlet, including the AJC. He’s now famous. His photo and life story is Page 1 news. He could have remained an anonymous “good guy” — just doing his daily duty — but he likely saw an example in numerous other assassins whose photo and story instantly appeared at the top of the news. As in the opportunity for fame. When will we ever learn and stop publicizing the photo, name and life story of these copycat shooters?
Just give us the needed facts: age, gender, race/ethnicity (maybe), and apparent motive. That’s it, unless they’re still at large and a photo, as in the Boston marathon killer, is needed for apprehending them.
KIRK WILSON, ALPHARETTA
