This is Viewpoints for Friday, March 18, 2016
Slow down
This letter is to anyone who uses Twin Oak Drive as a cut through. You may not believe this, but people actually live on this street. Please slow down. We want to thank you in advance for your caution and consideration for our family and animals. Do you want to be the one who hits one of our children or four-legged friends? I didn't think so. Be mindful of your speed. We will be watching you.
— Kendra Pippin
Macon
The unoccupied 'Occupied Territory'
Pro-Palestinian political groups continually claim that a part of Israel on the west side of the Jordan River is really "occupied territory." Not so according to international agreements. A short review of Middle East history explains why.
In 1948 Israel was confirmed as a national entity by the U.N. with Judea and Samaria as part of this sovereign state. This confirmation was based on an international agreement signed by the government of Turkey and recorded in the Treaty of Lausanne, which legalized the San Remo Accords. The government of Turkey as signatory to this binding treaty gave up all claim to its former territories and the Mandate for Palestine came into legal force.
Jewish Palestine was formally established by the League of Nations on Sept. 16, 1922, as Eretz-Israel. Its borders were defined as the territory between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea by the Transjordan Memorandum. Since the 1947 U.N. partition plan was totally rejected by the Arabs, it can have no legal standing. The San Remo agreement and the Treaty of Lausanne are Israel's Magna Carta and these international agreements remain in full force to this day.
No country/political entity should try to change the legitimate borders of another country by intimidation, coercion or force. The "Occupied Territory" is not really unoccupied.
— Hill Kaplan
Macon
Buy black
A recent letter from Terri Adams asked black people to stop being racist. After overhearing a black person speak about supporting black-owned businesses, she lamented that had she advocated for supporting white-owned business she would be called a racist. A University of Georgia study showed a dollar circulates zero to one times within the black community, compared to the more than six times it circulates in the Latino community, nine time in the Asian community and unlimited amount of times within the white community. A Northwestern University showed that only 3 percent of more than $1 trillion in African-American buying power makes it back into the black community and theorized that if middle class black people increased spending with black businesses by 7 to 10 percent, it would create almost one million jobs.
It is antithetical to see young black men standing on the street and say "go get a job" but discourage black people from supporting black business. One of the reasons Adams perceives that black people "behave so poorly" is the lack of jobs in black communities. It is counterproductive to make the argument that a white person encouraging the support of white-owned business would be considered racist. Factually white people do primarily, if not exclusively, support white businesses.
"Many white Americans of good will have never connected bigotry with economic exploitation. They have deplored prejudice but tolerated or ignored economic injustice" said Dr. King. I encourage Adams and everyone else to buy black.
— Reginald McClendon
Macon
Calm down, have faith
I would like to reassure Sam Ryan that he has no need to be "completely ashamed of the voters in this country." Hillary Clinton is not "a proven criminal, who passed along top secret information to enemies of our country and should be behind bars." Think man, why would she do such a thing? What enemies is she trying to help? What crime has she committed? At least eight Republican-dominated committees of the Senate and House have found no evidence of her wrongdoing in Benghazi. The Justice Department has found no evidence so far that she ever sent emails on her private server that were secret when she sent them. So, calm down, Sam. Have faith in the wisdom of all the voters. Our Founding Fathers did, and our system of government is the envy of the world.
— John Ricks
Cochran
It's the media's fault
The media has once again failed us. It was awful that thugs shut down Donald Trump in Chicago. We have the right to free speech. We have the right of assembly and we have the right to choose who we want to listen to.
Liberals seem to think they should only be the ones who have these rights, and it is their duty to stop anyone who doesn't agree with them. When Donald Trump did not speak, which he did for the safety of the people, the thugs took it as a victory.
What did the media do? Were they aghast that people would act like thugs? No, they only complained when Trump people fought back. The media should be out there protecting our First Amendment rights and taking those who were abusive to task.
I don't care if you agree with Trump or not, he had the right to speak and those people had the right to listen.
— Barbara Mabee
Warner Robins
Protest vs. riot
A protest is a peaceful effort by one or more individuals designed to call attention to some event or situation. It is designed to occur within all legal parameters and non-physical engagements. A riot is an "anything goes, inside or outside of the law" event and damage or personal injury is considered acceptable to the perpetrators. Both protests and riots are carefully planned events.
The "anti-Trump" event in Chicago on March 11 was a riot. It was carefully planned, funded and implemented. All of this by political individuals who, in desperation, have said they would do anything to keep Trump from becoming the nominee of the Republican party. These perpetrators especially include Mitt Romney, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, plus other prominent political individuals. Donald Trump had no part in it.
The media, of course, fanned the flames of hatred by showing the same videos over and over 10 to 20 times. More than 50 percent of the rioters had cellphones lifted in the air walking around hoping to get pictures of security personnel holding a rioter. It is important to remember that those politicians planning to do anything to stop Trump will happily wipe out the votes of U.S. citizens now and in the future.
— Robert Blackshear
Warner Robins
No greatness here
Donald Trump's campaign slogan is "Make America Great Again." Trump won't make America great, or even good for that matter. His anti-Islamic, anti-immigrant, racist rhetoric will make us the "great Satan" that Muslim extremists have harped about for the last three decades.
— William D. Carter
Bonaire
This story was originally published March 17, 2016 at 9:49 PM with the headline "This is Viewpoints for Friday, March 18, 2016 ."