Friday, August 9, 2013
I disagree with the Free Press page editorial of August 6, 2013: "Just For the Record/Stand Your Ground Law Not A Factor In Acquittal."
Stand your ground was much a part of the language used by the judge when giving final instructions to the jurors in the George Zimmerman trial. If was both officially and unofficially very much a part of the trial itself. In essence, it conveyed Trayvon Martin had every duty to retreat, although he was the one being cased and stalked by a stranger, and George Zimmerman had every right to "stand his ground", although he was doing the casing, stalking, confronting and engaging of Martin.
This would suggest that every individual who should ever find him/herself being stalked and confronted by a mugger, rapists, serial killer, child predator and decide to put up a fight must weight the chance of going from being considered the victim to aggressor who deserved to lose his/her life if they're killed by their assailant in the process of fighting back. If that is correct, and that is the law in other states as this writer suggests, the Georgia female hiker who was abducted, held for four days by Gary Hilton, tortured, then murdered and decapitated, went from being victim to aggressor when she used her martial arts skills in a fight for her life, but lost in the end. The writer of this piece is saying Hilton would have been justified in using deadly force the moment the hiker fought back and likely gained the upper hand at some point, regardless if he was the initial aggressor.
BRENDA WASHINGTON
I don't know how much more ignorance about Labor Unions I can stand. Even Senator Corker! Blaming unions for Detroit's bankruptcy is lunacy. This has been well documented.
The American dream is diminishing! A dream that came about due to unions and public education. What did the common man have before FDR? Nothing! Before unions, my father said, "I had to work from can till can't." Thousands died in mine, factory and foundry accidents. Read, "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair.
Do labor unions use some of the dues for political reasons? Certainly, otherwise the average worker has no voice in government. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce spends millions of dollars more for the rich and famous. Go after them, Corker!
I don't like conservative Republican-owned Wal-Mart. They pay their employees a minimum wage with no benefits. Costco pays excellent wages with benefits and are owned by liberal Democrats. Neither has a union. None of Costco's employees need food stamps to survive. Wal-Mart's certainly do. What a shame.
The Germans could teach us a lot about good labor/management relations at the VW plant. But in Hamilton county we may be too ignorant to understand or learn.
WILBOURNE C. MARKHAM, Walden, Tenn
I was saddened by the recent firing of editor Drew Johnson. Does anyone believe that had the title been changed to a flattering tone that the firing would have taken place? If the answer is no, then we are left with the obvious conclusion that the content of the editorial was the real reason for termination. What does that say about the independence of the page? More importantly, what does that say about the journalistic integrity of the superior who would claim authority to censor an editorial opinion? Perhaps they should refresh their understanding of the word "opinion."
As a strong Republican, I have certainly not agreed with all of the libertarian opinions Drew expressed, however I am not so weak-minded that a vigorous debate threatens me. I am usually not surprised by how thin-skinned and mean spirited liberals can be but I did expect more from the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
DR. JOHN S. STANBERY, Cleveland, Tenn.