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Letters to the EditorEditor, I arrived home in a suburb of Cincinnati Thursday night to disbelief. I had heard of some turmoil going on in my hometown, but never in my wildest dreams would I have expected what I saw. I am just wondering if the individuals and organizations who wrote the statement in the April 17 Letter to the Editor had opened their eyes this past week to what happened in Cincinnati. Their "condemnation" of the authoritative powers for "institutional racism" is outlandish and dangerous and they should be ashamed of such an insinuation. While I am saddened by the death of Timothy Thomas, such a loss does not warrant citywide upheaval. To suggest that all "protesters" should be given pardons is absurd. Protesters? From the news footage I watched this weekend, they were hardly protesters. Individuals who loot and pillage do not fall under the category of "protesters." These rioters were pulling innocent people out of their cars and beating them just because they were white - talk about racial profiling. To suggest that the mayor, safety director and chief of police "hold responsibility for the current problems" is to dismiss the responsibility of those who were looting and rioting themselves. How is it that these three chosen targets are responsible for others' actions? What ever happened to personal responsibility and accountability? Apparently, the people writing the letter do not believe in such a notion and have decided that the "ultimate responsibility for the current situation...lies with the Cincinnati Police Department and...the city government." That just doesn't add up. The police are called into a situation and respond without knowledge of who they are helping: white, black or purple. Is there racism in Cincinnati? I wouldn't doubt it, but rioting is not the way to resolve such problems. The real problem in Cincinnati, however, is not the racial divide; it is our priorities. If people really want change in Cincinnati, they should stop spending millions of dollars on new stadiums for lousy teams and start investing in the public schools and community programs. Above all, Cincinnatians need to take responsibility for their individual actions and come together as a community. No one forced people to riot. Trying to find scapegoats in the city officials and police department won't help heal the city. Nicholas Sweeney |