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Multiple offenders
Originally published November 07, 2009
How can residents or the NAACP be offended by this (Oct. 31, "In the spirit of good or evil?")? Why aren't they offended by tobacco fields, cotton fields, water fountains, buses? If they are offended by some scarecrows in a tree, then we need to get rid of other things, too. I bet they never have seen a black man hanging from a tree in their entire lives; how can they be so oversensitive. People can't even enjoy a holiday anymore in this country. We need to get rid of white wine; the game of pool, because the white ball is hitting the black ball; and baseball, because the ball is white. Are they offended by these, too? BRIAN HARRISON Frederick
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The mayor and his dummies
Originally published November 07, 2009
It is a pity that the mayor of Frederick didn't have the historical reference or racial sensitivity to know that Halloween human dummies hanging from trees would be offensive to black and white people old enough to have lived through the Jim Crow period of lynching in the U.S. Then, perhaps he would have had the effigies taken down as soon as he started getting complaints, instead of talking about whether or not they scare young people.Mayor Jeff Holtzinger said that to him they didn't suggest lynched bodies. But it's really not about what he thinks in this case. If he were racially sensitive, he would be concerned about how older black people felt about the Halloween effigies. He criticized Guy Djoken, the president of the local NAACP, for trying to make Frederick look racist. But if Holtzinger were really concerned about Frederick's image on race issues, and if he were smart, he would have had those Halloween dummies taken down when he first started getting complaints from the community and before The Frederick News-Post's photographers and writers got on the beat. This is another case of shooting the messenger. Instead of responding in kind to Djoken's gracious response -- "I'd like to commend him for making that decision" -- to the mayor's taking down the dummies, Holtzinger stuck his big, racially insensitive foot in his mouth, saying: "I hope we don't get complaints from the zombie association." Is Holtzinger comparing the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to the "zombie association"? He owes Djoken, the NAACP and the entire Frederick community an apology for that racially insensitive slur. He should do it now! Be a mayor! Be a man! HOMER YOST Frederick
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Model home
Originally published November 07, 2009
Congratulations to Habitat for Humanity for planning to build according to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards ("'Habitat' house gives woman reason to dance," FNP, Oct. 30).Unlike conventional developers who don't worry about the costs incurred in the operation of buildings by subsequent owners, Habitat has the interests of those who live in their homes to keep future energy costs down, to conserve water, and to keep construction landfill waste under control. We can all learn from their experience. Thanks to Habitat for being a model for our community! JOANNE M. IVANCIC Frederick
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Reaganomics vs. Obamanomics
Originally published November 07, 2009
In response to the letter "fact vs. fiction vs. fact vs. fiction ... " (Oct. 31), Joel Weiss missed the point made by Bud Otis, Rep. Roscoe Bartlett's chief of staff. The government should have let General Motors go bankrupt and restructure prior to spending billions on a bailout. The inevitable happened even after the bailout. To state the obvious, the difference is that billions of taxpayers' dollars would not be wasted on a company that was going to go bankrupt anyway. Yes, this mistake clearly falls on Obama and the Democrats for throwing taxpayers' money away. Ronald Reagan stated, "Government does not solve problems; it subsidizes them." This statement defines the GM bailout. Keep in mind that companies go bankrupt all the time and it is amazing that when capitalism is left alone to work it allows new companies to rise from the ashes of other fallen companies. Reaganomics worked -- Obamanomics, not so much. BRYAN BOCK Middletown
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