THE OFFICIAL WEB SITE OF THE MADISON TIMES WEEKLY NEWSPAPER

• Crime and the military

Dear Editor,

Timothy McVeigh of the Oklahoma City bombing was a Gulf War veteran. The Columbine killers were raised on a military base in Michigan and in the shadow of a Lockheed Martin missile plant south of Denver. Chai Vang served in the U.S. Army. So he shoots six people to death with a cheap semiautomatic assault rifle in a hunting incident in Wisconsin.

A friend of mine read a book about serial killers and mass murderers. They all had one thing in common. They had all been in the military. My own research shows that crime and murder rates in the major developed countries of the world are exactly proportional to the military percentage of their economies. Others have pointed out how crime rates are much higher around military bases.

Even inside the United States, murder and military-spending rates in the 22 Southern states are double the levels in the 28 Northern states.

When you are professionally trained to kill, the 2 percent that go deviant in any population may kill rather than merely assault or scream. Give them the weapon and incite them to use their training; that's all it takes.

Wisconsin's own mass murderers were one a year the three years before 9-11 and two a year in the three military buildup years since 9-11. Cutting military spending's share of the economy in half from the ‘80s to the ‘90s cut the murder rate in half, too.

Remember the legacy of Vietnam, when more veterans died of suicide after the war than died in the war. Those who join the military are much more likely to have been the victims of child abuse in their youth. Violence begets violence, just as Jesus warned us.

Bob Reuschlein

www.realeconomy.com/crime.htm

Chapter President

Citizens for Global Solutions

3264 Stonecreek Drive

Madison, WI 53719

608-848-5248

• More on Sly

Dear Editor:

In response to the flurry of articles and press releases regarding recent racial comments made by Sly, I submit the following comments:  

Some Madisonians regarded the comments to be insensitive and downright disrespectful to African Americans. I am more troubled by what appears to be misguided leadership among African Americans and politicians in this city.

While I can assure you that I have not tuned in to Sly’s show with any regularity, I have listened from time to time. During those times, I did detect an aura of racism and sexism in statements made by the host. However, when the discussion ended I was left with two main thoughts. The first was that Sly is a professional and part of his job is to increase his audience. Secondly, that he was honestly expressing his and others’ views on the topics being discussed. Furthermore, he was courageous enough to share them with whoever had the stomach to hear the truth, and for that, I salute you Sly. I would rather listen to someone who shares his true thoughts than listen to influential people  who mask their real message yet still engage in sinister acts that are far more damaging.

The biggest issue of concern for me, however, lies in the fact that while Sly may have made statements about two well-known African Americans, what he said is true of African Americans right here in our own city, county, and state government.  Perhaps, that is why the comments were met with such harsh criticism. This matter likely hit too close to home for some local African Americans. If considered carefully, local African Americans would be hard-pressed to find true representation in the traditional sense of African American leadership in our area.  What we have in Dane County is a situation where individual African Americans are regularly provided the platform to create sustainability of their own position at the expense of hundreds of unsuspecting African Americans who live in poverty.  Most working-class and poor African Americans could care less about what someone is saying about Rice and Powell. (Believe me Rice and Powell did not get where they are without the skills to fend for themselves.) These families struggle everyday to gain access to quality health care; for equal access to a quality education for their children; for affordable housing; and for sustainable employment to support their families.  

Several of the media reports on this issue are from people in positions who should be advocating for thousands of poor African American families here in Madison, Dane County, and across the state. Yet I have not seen any press releases that address the devastation these families face everyday here in Madison in a number of commu- nities.

Therefore, the next time that someone makes a statement that invokes concern for political correctness as it relates to race relations or other emotions, I suggest that we make sure that we attack the problem and not the symptoms. The symptoms are racial name-calling and misguided responses to name-calling.  The more significant problem facing Madisonians is RACISM that limits access to basic public resources. Where are the media reports on these issues? 

Mary E. Kirkendoll,
Madison

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