“Average” isn’t good enough
Thank you for your excellent “Taking Care” [Cover story, August 22], a critical review of Virginia and Charlottesville’s nursing homes. It is a cold comfort that Charlottesville’s nursing homes are “average.” As the article indicated, “average” is anything from “good” to “bad” to “horrible.”
Charity begins at home. It is past time for our federal government to stop the rivers of tax monies sent abroad for special financial interests, wars and interference in other nations’ governments. Spend the monies on the desperate needs of our own people—including nursing homes and health facilities.
Leo Shatin, Ph.D.
Boca Raton, Florida
[Photo of George Allen]
Who’s stereotyping who?
Jan Cornell’s piece on George Allen’s ignorant remark [Opinionated, September 5] is nothing but a stereotype in itself, concluding that this is a Democrat-versus-Republican issue. I’m sure that there were many Republicans, including myself, who were extremely disappointed by Senator Allen’s insensitive comment to S.R. Sidarth, and I got the feeling that Ms. Cornell believes the banal assumption that one cannot be both Republican and dispassionate.
I would like to remind her and her friends who are laughing at Virginia about a couple of racist jokes made by Democrats at the expense of Indian-Americans. At a fundraiser, Hillary Clinton prefaced a quote by Mahatma Gandhi by saying “he ran a gas station down in St. Louis,” drawing big laughs from the presumptively Democratic crowd. Then there is the comment from Delaware Senator Joseph Biden, stating, “You cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin’ Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I’m not joking,” as he referred to the large influx of Indian-Americans into Delaware. Should I now believe that all Democrats are racist, or that they don’t see anything wrong with the comments? I don’t believe it any more than I believe Ann Coulter’s ridiculous claim that Democrats are amoral and godless.
In all of the clips that I’ve seen of George Allen’s speech, I’ve never seen a view of the entire crowd that Ms. Cornell describes as white Republicans. Again, I feel that she is perpetuating the notion that the Republican Party is exclusively for whites, and the Democratic Party belongs to everyone else, including the whites that are non-racist. I just can’t figure out why President Bush’s Cabinet is one of the most racially diverse in history if Republicans only trust white males. Go figure.
We are all humans, and labeling somebody you don’t know is wrong no matter who they are. Politicians are politicians, no matter if they paint themselves blue or red, and inevitably they will let us down one way or another. I’m guilty of getting caught up in the emotions of politics too, but then I remind myself that it’s probably wiser to spend more time reflecting on my faith and the person I want to be, rather than focusing on the latest sound bite and how angry it makes me. The only people I’m serving when I allow that to happen are those who sell the news.
Jamie Slawski
Albemarle County
“Macaca” defined
I am curious about Mr. Sidarth, the young man whose mission is to follow Senator George Allen around with a camera on behalf of the Webb campaign [“Allen’s controversial greeting sparks debate,” Government News, August 22].
Was Sidarth polite or provocative while dogging Senator Allen? After all, isn’t the whole reason for this exercise to get something on tape that can be used against Senator Allen? Was Sidarth hoping to be “offended”? You can bet that those who want to be offended will find cause to be so under any circumstances. America is chock full of people who are pseudo-offended as a means to obtain power.
I am not naive enough to think that Sidarth’s brand of open espionage is peculiar to the Webb campaign, but what is the standard of treatment for these folks? Is the Webb campaign warm and receptive to any Sidarth counterparts in their midst? Perhaps people who serve as paparazzi for their candidates should grow a thicker skin, knowing full well that they are not welcome.
My assessment of the situation is that “macaca” wasn’t a racial or ethnic slur. It didn’t refer to monkeys or any other obscure meaning. It wasn’t a Swahili insult. “Macaca” may have been just a silly, nonsensical-sounding word. But then again, it may have been a euphemism for a**h***, and a**h**ism is an equal opportunity condition.
Pamela Sellers
Spotsylvania
Creative recruiting
I’m always amazed at how frequently people seem to prefer wringing their hands to creatively coming up with solutions. How interesting it would have been to read about how the Charlottesville and Albemarle police departments are working with local high schools to recruit teenagers of all races and genders to consider law enforcement as a potential career [“Education requirements a tough equation,” Courts and Crime, September 5]. About how they work with minority community groups and churches to sponsor ride-along programs that inspire young people to take criminal justice courses. How they were encouraging local teens who might not consider themselves college-bound to take college courses while still in high school to go toward the education requirements. About their innovative programs to recruit young high school grads as community service officers, while mentoring them and facilitating their attendance through incentives at PVCC, so that they may qualify as police officers. Instead, we get passivity—and a promotion of the idea that in order to recruit minorities, standards must be lowered.
Where’s the problem-solving? Where’s the brainstorming? It’s so convenient to blame low minority recruitment on education requirements. There are plenty of things that could be done that would simultaneously improve community relations, promote law-enforcement careers among minorities and women, and improve the diversity and responsivity of the police force. Let’s show some initiative in this community of great resources—excellent high schools, a renowned university, and a great community college. Active, creative outreach will have many positive repercussions in our community and our police departments without great costs.
Valerie L’Herrou
North Garden
Eliminate white space! Send your cards and letters to Mailbag, C-VILLE, 106 E. Main St., Charlottesville 22902, or e-mail mailbag@c-ville.com.