Letters to the editor for Friday, Aug. 2, 2013

Reader appreciates diverse viewpoints

I Loved the paper Saturday and Sunday. I was happy to see Brian Sandford tell us the paper will be changing to offer varying viewpoints reflecting the entire community.

Right under his column is a beautiful, thoughtful, challenging column on Trayvon Martin. In it, Marilee Swirczek mentions a sentence from Guy Farmer and uses it to teach us all a little bit more about the subtlety of racism: “Martin wasn’t an innocent young boy; he was a head taller than Zimmerman.” In that sentence, Farmer absolves George Zimmerman of taking a life, and that “profoundly disturbing sentence demonstrates the deep (probably subconscious) biases that fester in our complex culture,” she writes.

She may get anger from some for speaking up, but I am grateful for her courage and insight.

Midge Breeden

Carson City

Another perspective on Trayvon Martin shooting

We have been treated to the shooting of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman constantly for weeks, so let’s look at the facts without all the hullabaloo.

Trayvon was not walking down a public sidewalk, but inside a gated community which had experienced burglaries. To George Zimmerman, he appeared out of place and suspicious. Since he was on neighborhood watch, he felt he had a duty to watch him, which he had a perfect right to do. Trayvon had purchased the ingredients which when mixed with codeine cough syrup produces a concoction called “purple drank” and the autopsy of his liver revealed a condition that suggested he had consumed many such concoctions.

It has been suggested that he was in fear of his life by being followed by a “crazy cracker.” If so, and being unarmed, why didn’t he run instead of attacking him and attempt to kill him by banging his head on the concrete sidewalk?

During the 503 days between the shooting and the court verdict, 10,865 blacks were murdered by other blacks, so what makes this so special? A white, well almost white, described as white of Hispanic heritage, much like Obama who is white of African heritage, had killed a black which is not permitted in our politically correct society.

Most likely all the hullabaloo was to cover up all the government scandals which Obama calls phony. Phony, Mr. President? Tell that to the victims.

Alan C. Edwards

Carson City