Let Me Apologize For All Our Wrongs Letter Of The Week: From Jan. 15, 1997

According to staff writer Jamie Tobias Neely, Sonny Bono, “the doofus who was white, male and reasonably hard-working,” is responsible for many of the ills that plague America today.

Neely must be a card-carrying charter member of NOW, the National Organization of Whiners. I’m so tired of hearing about today’s white man giving the poor minorities the boot again. I know, it’s our fault that slavery existed in this country 150 years ago. It’s our fault that the Native Americans were put on reservations in the 1800s. It’s our fault that women are repressed and degraded. It’s our fault that the oceans are dying. It’s our fault that we’re experiencing global warming. It’s our fault that, as I write, asteroids are plunging toward Earth to wipe out civilization. And it’s our fault that drugs and alcohol are rampant, that marriage is no longer a viable institution and that my Chevrolet pickup has the type of side-saddle gas tanks that blow up when hit.

Well, I’m truly sorry. So let me apologize for the rest of all my white, living, breathing male friends.

Now, let’s get on with life.

If I remember right, the American dream - the one Bono experienced - is possible for any person, regardless of race, religion or gender, who is willing to be innovative and persistent in pursuing success. Bono made it work. Madeleine Albright made it work. Colin Powell made it work. Ben Nighthorse Campbell made it work. Barbara Jordan made it work.

Why don’t you make it work? Robert Oster Nine Mile Falls

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