Make no mistake, Russia is the enemy
In the last few weeks, the AJC reported about the Russian military buildup along the border of Ukraine. Russia is a threat to Ukrainian sovereignty. Missiles, tanks and thousands of Russian troops are poised to attack a democratic nation. The U.S. and NATO are indeed concerned.
Lately, I have noticed a shift in the opinion of some Americans toward Russia. I am old enough to remember bomb shelters, the duck-and-cover drill and civil defense awareness. Russia was and is our enemy. Russia was moving nuclear missiles into Cuba, which could have triggered an all-out nuclear exchange. Thanks to JFK’s diplomacy, war was averted. This belief that Russia is, or should be, our ally is propaganda promoted by the right-wing media. It is the epitome of “fake news.”
DAVE FEDACK, DOUGLASVILLE
Pitts hits the mark on blind bigotry
Leonard Pitts Jr. is always crying “race,” but he’s not always crying “wolf,” as mixed within his racial hyperbole, however monotonous, are valid points. His “For many, white remains default ‘American’ identity” (Jan. 30) hits the mark regarding mindsets and utterances white perpetrators fail to notice as derogatory. Yes, white people make bigoted comments — some intentionally, but others, as Pitts says, are examples of “the bigotry of implicit assumption.”
Pitts, to his credit, didn’t single out only Republicans for rebuke, though he didn’t include any well-known, race-tinged Joe Biden comments such as “poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids.” Including Democrats in his ire, however, is not Pitts’ norm. Still, his regular bias there is probably just one of “implicit assumption” rather than intentional slanting to present an unobjective political view.
And to chew on, Mr. Pitts, maybe Mitch McConnell wouldn’t state, “African-American voters are voting in just as high a percentage as Americans” if many Black Americans didn’t distinguish themselves as being African-Americans rather than just Americans.
GREGORY MARSHALL, MARIETTA
