Fair’s Fair, The Media Should Point Cameras Upon Itself Letter Of The Week: From April 14

Los Angeles Police Detective Mark Fuhrman’s scuffle at the airport and flesh-eating bacteria were the lead-in topics on television Jan. 26. I was quite surprised to learn that they were two separate stories.

One feature was about a vicious bacteria causing skin necrosis. The other was about the carnivorous media hounding a quiet public servant. One bacteria destroys the flesh, the other the human spirit. Both seek and destroy at will.

In Detective Fuhrman’s case the germs spread quickly. Tabloid television shows descended upon Spokane and Sandpoint, showed his future house and spoke to anyone who could give a sound bite. The media treated him like a convicted sex offender.

Spokesman-Review Editor Chris Peck simply declared that Fuhrman’s a public figure, as if all rules of common decency are automatically suspended. It’s unfortunate that Detective Fuhrman was provoked to respond the way he did, but try to have some understanding. His life will never be the same.

Here’s a suggestion. Photographer Dan McComb is now a public figure. Let’s hear about his career, with mistakes highlighted. Interview all persons he’s had contact with. Identify all family members. Give his address and question his neighbors. Not fair or relevant? Who decides?

This is a request to the media. Let Mark Fuhrman and his family live quietly in Sandpoint. Refrain from maligning him and the people of North Idaho by inferring that they are white supremacists because they want the quiet and beauty of the Northwest. Gail Coutts Athol

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