Keith Oren Snell
I was moved to write after reading the Letters to the Editor in
response to the Leader's coverage of the inappropriate statement made by
a student in his high school yearbook.
I was disturbed that most of these writers criticized the Leader, the
school, the teacher and the 16-year-old student for doing the right
thing. Also disturbing was how easily those who wrote letters excused
this incident. It takes courage to point out intolerance, just as it
takes courage to admit that intolerance can exist in your own community.
It was sad to read the anger based reasoning that people used to
criticize those who did the right thing by doing their jobs properly, and
instead, defend a student who had clearly done something offensive to
others, whether purposely or innocently.
Something seems horribly out of focus here. If the young man truly
meant nothing by his statement, then the right thing to do would have
been to apologize. In a healthy society, there is no shame, no loss of
face when one apologizes for making an innocent mistake, particularly one
that might be injurious to another. On the other hand, if the student
intended his statement to reflect his racial preferences, then he should
have the courage to admit it and stand up for his beliefs and be
accountable for his actions.
According to the original article in the Leader ("Yearbook comment
causes a stir," June 21), the student who wrote that statement is 18
years old, which means he is legally an adult and is fully accountable
for his actions. He chose to play in that ball park, so he should be
willing to take the shots that are hit at him. The article stated that
the reporter made several attempts to contact him and he declined to
respond to each one.
It took courage for a student to point out the inappropriate statement
in the yearbook, for the teacher to encourage her student to do the right
thing by bringing it to the attention of the community, and for the
Leader to fairly and accurately investigate the issue. I would hope that
those who wrote letters denouncing these people have the courage to
accept the consequences of their statements. I wonder if they have had
the courage to visit the Simon Wiesenthal Museum of Tolerance and
experienced the devastating power of racial hatred.
Our recent history is replete with the violent, hateful and degrading
affects of racism. The killings of Matthew Shepard carnage at Colorado's
Columbine High School in 1999, Benjamin Smith's Midwest rampage against
blacks and Jews, and the recent violent eruptions of anti-Semitism,
racism, and homophobia in Sacramento and Los Angeles are just a few of
the more recent examples. The investigators of these atrocities have
found that the people who perpetrated them were all nurtured by a culture
founded upon racial fear and hate.
No one is impervious to the effects of these base emotions. The people
in the communities where these horrific tragedies occurred certainly know
this. Many of them have stated in interviews afterward that they now wish
they would have had the courage to speak out when they first thought
something was wrong.
Professional educator and composer KEITH OREN SNELL is a Burbank
native and 50-year resident. Reach him at mrkos@bigfoot.com.
