Letters for May 4, 2023

Supply and demand

Racism is a permanent human condition, but in the last 60 years we have made great progress in this country trying to get it to an irreducible minimum.

An indicator of our success is that the need for racism has outstripped supply. What is the solution? Manufacture racism, of course.

The obvious examples are Jussie Smollett and the frequent racist graffiti hoaxes on college campuses. Too often people reporting racist graffiti directed at them turn out to be the perpetrators. Google “racist graffiti hoax” to see many examples from the last few years on our campuses. What happens to the perpetrators of racist hoaxes when caught? Often in college they are let off with a slap on the wrist since their purpose was to “raise consciousness.” What happened to Jussie Smollett after he inflamed race hate in Chicago? First, the Black prosecutor refused to prosecute. Finally, due largely to the outrage of Black cops, Jussie was prosecuted and convicted of filing a false police report, fined, sentenced to 150 days in jail, ordered to pay over $100,000 for investigative time, then promptly let out on bail pending appeal.

Why all this blather? Because the EWU racist graffiti incident reported last week is the work of one person and does not reflect our society as a whole. Want this to stop? Stop giving attention to these trivial anonymous incidents as if they condemn our whole society. Expel the perpetrator, white or Black.

Tom Horne

Nine Mile Falls

Proud of police response to Moran Prairie incident

A recent article in your paper about police responses during which shootings occurred gave the impression that Spokane police are a bunch of cowboys whose first instinct is to go for their gun. My recent experience at the incident on Glenrose would radically contradict that impression.

I stood traffic control at 57th and Palouse Highway from 7 p.m. on May 13 to 3 a.m. May 14. During that time I monitored all law enforcement radio transmissions concerning the incident. I am proud of the restraint shown by all personnel involved. Every officer at the scene, state, county and city acted professionally and took every precaution to protect not only the local residents, but the life of the person who was the center of attention.

All of the technical and tactical skills of local enforcement were deployed to avoid a violent and fatal culmination to the stand-off. The command officer and SWAT members were patient, careful and as discreet as possible in all of their efforts to communicate with the individual. They could not have done anything else to arrive at a peaceful resolution to this confrontation.

Spokane has every reason to be proud of the professionalism displayed by every one of the responding officers.

Monte MacConnell

Mead