Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, August 25, 1995 TAG: 9508250038
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
That's ridiculous! All those responsible for the above cases (right or wrong) had time to think about what they were doing. The three Blacksburg policemen didn't.
I'm sure there are extenuating circumstances in every case cited above, some in agreement with the outcome and some against. But until people learn that when a recognizable legal authority detains you, you make no fast moves either away or toward them, unfortunate things like this will happen. If people had someone close to them in law enforcement killed because that person wasn't ready for the unexpected, people would feel differently about an officer reacting to a situation.
Oh, yes, I'm sure you're going to find some law enforcers who abuse their authority. Let's leave that discipline up to the system. If the system doesn't work, then get rid of those responsible for the system, such as police chiefs, sheriffs, etc.
DON WEBSTER
CHRISTIANSBURG
Stiffer penalties are necessary
I APPLAUD your reporting in the Aug. 22 article ``Hog starvation defies all reason.''
In most areas, animal abuse is indeed regarded as no more than transgression of a litter law, which is indicative of our present-day morals. A vast majority of people are uneducated to the fact that animals are subject to physical, mental and emotional deprivation. Cruelty to animals stems from the same roots of ignorance, unawareness and greed that pervade society today, and result in our abuse of children and the elderly.
Please continue to report these painful stories. It may make people aware of the need for more stringent laws and punishment for those so-called civilized creatures who abuse a life.
SONIA J.F. EAST
COPPER HILL
Self-esteem is a synonym for pride
BO CHAGNON'S Aug. 20 commentary (``True esteem is blocked by pride'') is flawed in every sense of the word. Self-esteem comes from within. It expresses a belief in one's values and accomplishments.
Since self-esteem is simply a synonym for pride, it's gibberish to say one is admirable and the other wrong. Saying that things we do to enhance ourselves are at the expense of others is nonsense. It represents the old socialist charge that the vessel of success and accomplishment is finite in size, and one's success must come at the expense of others.
Having children who treat themselves and others with dignity and respect is fine, but good education requires much more. For far too long, schools haven't emphasized hard work and accomplishment. The results have been predictable. When a teen-ager kills another over an expensive pair of shoes, it's not because of commercial television, but because he or she has no values, no recognition of right and wrong, and no sense of accomplishment.
I hope Chagnon is a better performing artist and songwriter than essayist.
ROBERT H. PHILLIPS SR.
MONETA
Old-fashioned story is a movie hit
I AM so glad that someone finally spoke out against reviews of certain movies that recently have appeared in this newspaper. Melissa Simpson (Aug. 19 letter to the editor, ``Teens don't want to skip this flick'') really nailed it down when she said that the reviewer must review movies for the public, not for himself or herself. Since when did opinion become fact?
``A Walk in the Clouds'' is a movie the entire family can go to, which is a rarity these days. Keanu Reeves played his character with a sensitivity that was touching. This is an old-fashioned love story filled with romance instead of the usual gratuitous sex and violence. I hope we haven't become so used to this in movies that we can no longer enjoy a movie without these elements.
Simpson's letter just thrilled my heart. My hat is off to her and her peer group for having the gumption to be able to reach a decision based on what she likes and dislikes.
MARGIE GUTHRIE
BEDFORD
Cheating to win will backfire
AS A parent, I've become most disturbed as I read of more and more parents teaching their children the cheating game to win whatever the contest (or whatever) has to offer (Aug. 21 article, ``Livestock shows: Cheat to win'').
Our children are grown now, and I'm proud to say that they're responsible, honest, trustworthy adults. We taught them from the cradle up that this world's real winners are people whose word others can always depend on - even if that honesty appears to cost the person something valuable at the time.
My husband and I were taught that you can tell a person's character by how honest they are with you and others. We passed along another well-learned lesson: that simple cheating is but a stepping stone to fraud, stealing and so on. Also, that a person becomes more hardened against feeling guilt after each deception. Therefore, it becomes easier for a person to learn bigger and better ways to achieve their desires in life. A good example of this type of learning is the animal cruelty used to ram a garden hose down a pig's throat with running water to add a quick weight gain.
Children may not advance to robbing banks by practicing such dishonesty. But the same children will learn that it's intelligent thinking to outwit someone else at that person's expense - that is, until it comes back home to them!
PAT DEEL
CLOVERDALE
Jerusalem must not go to the PLO
ARAB LEADERS oppose relocating the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. They claim the city is sacred to them, and should be turned into the capital of a Palestine Liberation Organization state. Historical record doesn't support the Arabs' claim to Jerusalem.
During the unlawful Jordanian occupation of the ``old city'' section of Jerusalem (1946-1967), no Arab leader (except Jordan's King Hussein) visited the city. The old city was neglected. Arab residents lacked electricity, plumbing, health-care services and a steady water supply.
Throughout history, the Arabs never showed any real interest in Jerusalem. Jerusalem isn't mentioned once in the Koran, while it's mentioned more than 600 times in the Jewish Torah.
The Jewish claim to Jerusalem is anchored in biblical history, having served as the capital of the Jewish kingdoms during the eras of David and Solomon, and in 3,000 years of uninterrupted Jewish habitation of the city. In modern times, there has been a Jewish majority in Jerusalem since the 1800s, except during the period of 1948-1967. That was because Jewish residents were forced to leave the old city by Arab forces during the 1948 Arab invasion of newborn Israel.
In response to a reunited Jewish Jerusalem, Arabs suddenly became interested in Jerusalem and are now demanding that the city be made the capital of a PLO state.
ALVIN W. FINESTONE
CLIFTON FORGE
Depiction of women is hogwash
BACK to the drawing board would be the best advice for the illustrators and advertisers representing Valley View Mall on their creation of the billboard viewed from Interstate 581 northbound in the downtown area.
This depiction of a femininely attired pig cruising in a convertible from the mall with her mountainous pile of booty could be interpreted as being very offensive to women. I'm uncertain how these advertisers view their target market, but I regard the display as deficient in good judgment and taste in its depiction of prospective customers.
Considering that I've never seen any ``female'' pigs adorned in pearls shopping at the mall, are we to assume the promoters are assimilating the attributes of this stout-bodied, messy and over-indulgent mammal to the characteristics of their female clientele in general as insatiable shopping swine?
I do hope their intention was to depict the babe as a smart consumer.
P.J. GOLD
ROANOKE
by CNB