No Words Can Excuse The Senseless Beating Of Another Letter Of The Week: From Oct. 30

If we all beat up whoever “made us mad,” we would all be dead.

Adrian Washington, 16, gave that justification for assaulting Peter LaBeck, 81. This quote sickened me, as did the remarks of Adrian’s father - that the media blew the incident out of proportion, and “publicly lynched” this teen.

I, too, am a black individual. I, too, have experienced racism. However, never have I physically abused anyone. What happened to “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me?”

LaBeck exercised a characteristic often forgotten in our society. With two black eyes, he forgave the teens who jumped him when LaBeck couldn’t possibly protect himself. He forgave them, but Washington said words just got to him and he couldn’t control his anger.

We don’t know who first threw the racial slurs, LaBeck or the teens. I can’t imagine any 81-year-old would provoke a teenager, regardless of his race.

What we do know is our society has truly reached a low point when a teenager attacks an elderly person simply because of words, and he couldn’t forgive.

It’s truly a sad day when instead of apologizing for his son’s actions, the father of this teen places blame somewhere else, just like his son.

It’s a sad day when we stop taking responsibility for our actions, when we blame others, and when we let our anger turn to vengeance to the point where it’s out of control. Carley Burrell Spokane

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