To the editor: After reflecting on his article (On Second Thought, March 31, 2010), I strongly urge Eddie Griffin to take a long look at himself in the mirror. He also needs to reaffirm just exactly what his responsibilities are as a journalist and understand the integrity he owes to his readers.
First of all, it was never proven that U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri was spat upon or that anyone shouted derogatory racist names to Rep. John Lewis. In fact, I believe that several news organizations in the leftist media have since admitted as much. What’s more, it is a fact that no person has stepped forward to claim the $100,000 reward that was offered up for any documented proof that any such incidents occurred, though the media intensely scrutinized every second of news coverage. So again, the liberally biased press ran with rumors and accusations as proven facts without doing their due diligence.
The obvious goal here was to slander the American people who partook in the Tea Party rallies. I have been to various Tea Party events and have seen nothing but patriotic and respectful citizens who are simply terrified of the direction this presidential administration and Congress is taking this country. They are not afraid of “diversity,” though the fawning liberal media have tried it paint it so. They are concerned about their livelihood, their life savings, and the future of their children, which will surely be squandered in the country’s radical shift toward becoming a welfare state.
Interestingly, there have also been reports that these Tea Party rallies are being infiltrated by certain individuals who wish to cast a negative light on the movement. This also has been documented, but you won’t hear about it on the network news or read about it in the major newspapers. What’s more, I can say with certainty that it was libertarian marchers who carried derogatory “Joker” posters and swastika emblems in reference to the president at last year’s town hall meeting in Arlington, held by U.S. Rep. Joe Barton. These protesters laughingly admitted as much to me.
Is racism alive and well in this country? Surely. But to accuse an entire group of being racists simply because they are a threat to your political views is cowardly. The mainstream media in this country is frightened to death of what the Tea Party movement represents. It is inarguably a politically charged involvement of normal American citizens at the grass-roots level, to a volume unprecedented in this country’s recent history. They are controlling the story, not the media, and the networks can’t stand it. Therefore the media has in turn marginalized them, dubbed them with lurid nicknames culled from homosexual acts, made vicious verbal assaults, and now attempt to paint them as racist. Mr. Griffin even invokes memories of the great civil rights triumphs of our past.
Eddie Griffin is not doing African-Americans a service by slurring ordinary American citizens. Have courage and wear your political ideals on your shield. Let the principles of liberalism and socialism be seen and judged on their own worth. Don’t cower behind the race card.
Michael Phineas
Arlington
Editor’s note: Eddie Griffin is not a professional journalist. He is a local activist and blogger whose expressed opinions register on all parts of the political spectrum.
To the editor: Eddie Griffin takes the parts of definitions of words (like racism) he likes and uses those parts to satisfy his agenda. I think surrounding himself with “black intelligentsia” (whatever that means) has clouded his thinking, as he continues to “define his own reality.” Mr. Griffin would do well to break out of his 1960s-era Malcolm X time capsule and start living in the present. OK, maybe “racist” wasn’t an entirely accurate term to throw at Eddie, but “a cover for racism” seems good enough for him to hurl at the entire Tea Party movement. So how will you slander black and Hispanic Tea Partiers? Are they “a cover for racism” also? It’s 2010, and we’re all getting tired of reverse-discrimination proponents like Eddie who imply racism or discrimination every time someone disagrees with “his reality.”
Max Pfiffner
Arlington
School Turnover
To the editor: Thank you, Betty Brink, for your very thorough and balanced look at the Fort Worth school district trustee elections (“Upsetting the Apple Cart,” April 21, 2010). When I want an unbiased story, I look to the Fort Worth Weekly to provide it. Our schools, while they have improved under Melody Johnson’s reign and will undoubtedly continue to do so, need fresh faces and ideas on the board. As a District 2 resident, I supported Tobi Jackson. She’s got the experience, enthusiasm, and energy needed to inspire our children, teachers, and administrators.Good luck to all the incumbents and challengers. I thank you all for your willingness to serve your communities.
Michelle Richardson
Fort Worth
