America’s race-baiting problem
The best part of the paper, including Sunday’s comics, is Rufus Ward’s column on local history. He has a talent or gift for finding and writing about little-known local history.
A black woman had been in a wreck, was intoxicated and banged on a stranger’s door in the middle of the night. The homeowner fired a shotgun through the door, killing her. I wasn’t there, but I believe he over-reacted, possibly out of fear.
I don’t live in Michigan, thank God (American by birth and Southern by the grace of God), but from what I’ve read there is a big crime problem there. According to news reports and crime stats I’ve seen, blacks are responsible for most of the crimes there. Any wonder why this homeowner may have been scared?
Remember, VP Joe Biden advised homeowners to fire a shotgun in the air if they were scared by intruders. There will be criminal charges filed against the homeowner, which will have two effects. One, it will make homeowners less likely to shoot through closed doors at unseen intruders, and two, it will embolden thugs to crash through doors on the pretext of “I need to use your phone/I need help/etc.”
People are comparing this to the Trayvon Martin killing, but there are differences. America, get over the race-baiting problem. Face your own prejudices and clean up your own back yards before you start accusing others of being racist just because they stereotype and profile using the news stories and facts on crime. Want to change things? Start at home.
Cameron Triplett
Brooksville
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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