Letters To The Editor

PEOPLE IN SOCIETY

Letter reveals ‘ugliness of the soul’

This letter is directed to the person who wrote the hate letter to the lovely woman who was interviewed on the news on March 7:

What were some of your words? “Go back to Africa and swing with baboons”? You are cowardly and ignorant. Your letter reflects a dismal, pitiful spirit and an ugliness of the soul that is beneath contempt.

I am white, and people like you make me ashamed of it.

Linda Wilcox Spokane

‘Love doesn’t have a color’

Karen Boone and family, I am so sorry. The letter you received was no less than an act of war by an ignorant and cowardly individual.

Unfortunately, it is difficult to fight the ignorant and cowardly who dwell among us. Because they are ignorant, they speak without knowledge. Because they are cowards, they hide in shadows or behind others as warped as themselves. They are no less than a disease upon our society.

I know that if I were in your shoes, I would not have been so calm and collected in my reply. I assume the person who did this is white, as I am, but it doesn’t matter. Whatever color they are, they did not choose to be, and God did not choose it either. Love doesn’t have a color.

I’m embarrassed and ashamed for that person. This despicable act says far more about those people who allegedly think and act like the writer of that trash than anyone else.

There is a cure for this disease and the individuals who embrace it so eagerly. The cure is education. Until we make that the No. 1 priority in this nation, we shall suffer the damage the ignorant, the cowardly and the truly worthless bring upon us.

May God bless you and your family. Thank you for your courage. You make Spokane proud. David Bray Spokane

Some of us value diversity

This is a letter of empathy for the woman who found a racist letter in her mailbox after her “Your Turn” column was published:

I am sorry you had such an ugly experience. Please be aware that not everyone in the Northwest is a racist. I believe people of all races and cultures should be welcome in the community. Cultural diversity adds a richness to life that could never be experienced if everyone were alike. We all share the same world, and segregation in any form is a big step backward.

Apparently, the writer of that racist letter is living in the wrong century. Maurie A. White Post Falls

Expose hatred and the hate-filled

We applaud The Spokesman-Review for publishing the hate-laden letter written to Karen Boone by a tinyminded racist. We agree that it is the community’s responsibility to foster a climate in which we can feel safe and respected. Part of that responsibility is fulfilled by turning the spotlight on bigotry, wherever it is found, and exposing it for what it is.

People who spew such hateful vitriol should not be allowed to scurry, like cockroaches escaping from the flashlight beam, to their dark hiding places, away from the awareness of the rest of the community. It is indeed disgusting to read such filth, but we cannot hide from it or try to ignore it. We have to express our disgust and disdain for it at the top of our voices. We need to be fully aware of what it is and where it is.

The writer of that letter must be shown that the effect of his letter was contrary to his intent. Boone’s rights, freedoms and personal dignity are affirmed on these pages, while the writer of that letter watches his own rights and freedoms diminish and his dignity shrivel under public scrutiny.

We hope, in response to the vicious and fear-ridden message sent to Boone, that she and her family will be flooded with messages and gestures of love, respect and support. Mike and Candace Finity Hayden Lake, Idaho

This is a challenge - to overcome

There are many reasons why Spokane is such a great community. One of these is the gift of Karen Boone. We were incensed to see that she was a victim of racial bigotry in our town.

When disease strikes a community, it behooves us to become better-informed so that we might take action to eradicate it. I challenge not only ourselves but also our community to stand together and support our brothers and sisters of color and of religion.

Thank you, Karen Boone, for hanging in there with us. Rob and Liz Nebergall Spokane

Makes me embarrassed to be Caucasian

I am so embarrassed once again to be a member of a race that throughout history has been responsible for some of the most despicable acts against both other humans and animals.

The person who wrote that letter to Karen Boone must have had something drastically wrong happen to him/her during his/her life. Karen Boone and family, please accept our apology for this obviously troubled individual’s act. Rick Nelson and family Spokane

Sadness, anger, embarrassment, resolve

As I read the hate letter left in the mailbox for Karen Boone’s child to read (“Roundtable,” March 11), I was fighting tears. What made matters worse was that I couldn’t distinguish my tears as being angry tears or sad tears.

There is one emotion this whole situation evoked from me that I am very sure of: being ashamed.

I always have been proud of whom I am. Knowing that a person who shares my skin color said these things about another human being and meant them is truly horrible. I am embarrassed by this astonishingly ignorant incident.

I realize racism happens every day and in every corner of the planet, but I guess I have had it with racism and hate, especially when it’s as cruel and blatant as this. As part of this community, I feel the need to respond and apologize for this imbecility.

If harassment charges are sought, I truly hope that justice is done. Cheryl G. Schiavon Spokane

‘Racism cannot be tolerated’

The disgusting, racist letter sent to Karen Boone is so ridiculous that it doesn’t deserve a response. But it must be responded to because the ignorance of racism cannot be tolerated.

The United States was founded by people who came to this land from all parts of the world to escape oppression. To think that 200 years later we still cannot fulfill this mission because of skin color is absurd.

If Spokane is not a nice place, as the letter sent to Boone suggests, it is not because of our citizens’ physical characteristics; it’s because of despicable people like the writer of that letter. Serena Schnell Spokane

Silence is haters’ friend, ally

Karen Boone courageously has placed before us an ugly racist letter addressed to her. Writing that letter was a hate crime intended to shock, frighten and silence Boone. As intolerance and discrimination continue to be unveiled in our community, we need to stand together as neighbors against bigotry and ignorance.

We stand by our friend and board member. She is a person of integrity and fairness who possesses a deep commitment to community involvement with effective leadership skills. Boone has shown leadership in both her personal and professional life as a role model. She brings her life lessons to the communal table as a teacher and guide.

We commend Boone and The Spokesman-Review for taking action with a response to this horrific insult. Boone is correct. We cannot succumb to forces that would claim the right to free speech as their own to the exclusion of others. Silence will not make our community better - action will. Nancy Ingalls and Cory Auverson-Brewer Inland Empire Women’s Political Caucus, Spokane

I will teach fairness, honor courage

I refuse to accept or condone the bigotry and ignorance that is overtly and covertly displayed and harbored in this society.

I refuse to stop speaking to and teaching young ones about equality and fairness. I will continue to care for and honor citizens like Karen Boone who have the courage to speak out for equality. Vicki McBride Cheney

Hope bigot doesn’t feel rewarded

It was with great sadness that I read the hate letter to Karen Boone that was published March 11.

While I understand that your purpose in printing that letter was to show us that hatred is still very much alive, I wonder if printing the ugliness in all of its detail is wise. I only hope that the letter writer did not feel rewarded with publicity for his or her views.

We certainly have a lot more work to do on relationships between races. Deborah Logan Spokane

Hater’s, target’s characteristics show

Please believe, Karen Boone, that not all whites are as filled with rot and hatred as the letter writer is. Most of us consider what is inside a person rather than what is on the outside.

You sound like a very erudite, loving and worthwhile person. The letter writer obviously has none of these characteristics. God bless and keep you and your family. Mitchell Clarke Loon Lake, Wash.

Let ‘not in our town’ be our motto

The ice storm video presented to a Spokane leadership group reportedly did not include any persons of color. This was brought to my attention immediately after it was viewed, and it reminded me that we must always be on the alert to represent Spokane as an inclusive community.

I appreciate Karen Boone taking the time to write a column for “Your Turn” to help more of us get to another level of understanding. She received a very hateful and inappropriate response to that article.

Our lives are richer when we can share the diversity of people of all ages, races, ethnicity and gender. It would be a pretty boring place if we all were cloned to be the same.

Many persons in the community watched a video recently with the message that racism would not be tolerated. Its title was “Not in Our Town.” I would like to see Spokane continue to send that same message: not in our town. Marge Mero Spokane

Actively oppose racism

I am outraged by the people of Spokane’s lack of commitment and courage to better this community’s stand on racism. Recent incidents in this city show that there is a pattern of concern when it comes to dealing with minorities.

We say we want to improve this region’s image, but through our own inaction, we are as much the perpetrators as the people actually doing all the wrong.

Attitudes that condone this type of behavior start in the home. A child who hears his parents speaking freely in derogatory terms of another’s race or sex can be expected to share his parents’ attitudes. From there, the cycle continues.

One thing we can do is not tolerate racist and sexist jokes. We should try to get along with each other. Ramona W. Boyd Spokane

OTHER TOPICS

Debate rule still no good

Regarding the Greater Spokane League (GSL) ruling of restrictions for the state-qualifying tournament in forensics:

This year’s restrictions are even more severe. Try as we may, more undeserving students will go to state in place of those who rightfully have earned it. I find fault with the league on two levels.

First, this policy encourages lack of motivation or diligence on the student’s part if he or she knows being the best isn’t required to compete with the best in the state.

Secondly, this regulation never has been presented with a clear agenda. The reason for its existence changes every time we question its validity. Mead is the only school limited by this rule, yet it also is the school that tends to have the most competitors.

When teachers, the people in charge of guiding America’s youths, resort to promoting the easy way out instead of encouraging us to work hard and reap benefits honestly, it’s no wonder America is slipping behind in our ability to be innovative and productive.

I challenge the coaches of the schools advocating this policy to explain to each student whose rightful place in the largest, most competitive debate tournament in this state is given away to someone else exactly why he or she must suffer for being better. Brieanna Wilson Spokane

With choice goes responsibility

Several “Roundtable” page letters on March 9 were concerned with the recent protest against abortion at an area high school. What I find interesting about the negative response is this: If young adults are trusted to make the right decision about sexual intercourse, shouldn’t they also be subjected to the possible effects of their decision? If the school is not doing so, then shame on the school. You surely don’t teach driver’s education without showing the effects of improper driving.

Perhaps it is not the protest of abortion that everyone finds so appalling. Methinks it’s the act itself. One way to solve this would be to overturn Roe vs. Wade. How would the pro-choicers protest? Would they hold up pictures of families and say “this could be you”? Donald J. Caron Coeur d’Alene

Priggee is ignoring scandals

Am I the only reader noticing that our aggressive, hardhitting, take-no-prisoners political cartoonist Milt Priggee is missing in action?

With one of the biggest scandals unfolding in the White House since Watergate, Priggee seems to have run out of ink. I can’t count more than one or two political cartoons in the past few months that have touched on this everwidening scandal.

But then, should I be surprised? Priggee is enthralled with that sleazy bunch in the White House. How many more revelations have to slither out of the White House woodwork before Priggee reports in for duty? T. Anthony Ehrenberg Spokane

Editor’s note: Eleven weeks into the year, staff cartoonist Milt Priggee has depicted, directly and indirectly, the president, first lady and/or vice president nine times. Many of these cartoons relate to campaign financing and other irregularities. None is complimentary. An example of Priggee’s enthrallment, from Feb. 27, appears above.