Battling Bigots Ignorant of History
. . . The Civil War to free the black population ended 129 years ago at the surrender of Gen. Robert E. Lee at Appomattox.
Billions of dollars were spent on both sides, over 2,400 battles and skirmishes took place as over 600,000 young white men mostly perished for the freedoms due the black population. Yet in November 1994, ignorant white extremists threw hate fliers in the streets of Annapolis trying to intimidate anyone they could, but especially the black citizens of the capital city of Maryland. . . . As a member of the Annapolis Human Relations Commission, I have been asked as the public relations chairman to express our vehement opposition and condemnation to such degrading public behavior and discrimination toward the citizens of this city. . . . A few members who hide their faces under cloaks should hide their faces in shame. Ignorant people hide behind masks and use vulgar language because they are not smart enough to be able to express themselves in a civilized manner.
The Human Relations Commission applauds the actions of our citizens marching together, arm in arm through the streets in support of liberty for all. The only way race relations is going to get any better is on a one-to-one basis, neighbor-to-neighbor, worker-to-worker. We all have the same needs, wants and desires. Only when we renew our efforts to work together will we achieve what we dream or any portion of it.
The city's description of discrimination is as follows: Discrimination involves prejudice or prejudicial outlook in acting or failing to act in reference to persons because of race, creed, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, marital status, physical or mental handicaps or sexual orientation in a way that persons are adversely affected in employment, housing, public accommodations, law enforcement or financing.
The laws of Annapolis prohibit discrimination in all of these areas. The Human Relations Commission has investigative and advisory capabilities and is supported by the Annapolis city government. All complaints are public information, and all meetings are open to the public. To file a complaint, call 263-7954. A form will be sent to fill in, it will be read at a meeting and someone will be assigned to handle it.
Diane Kanus Diamond
Annapolis
Nosy People
Liz Atwood gives us the good news that Elise Armacost has a daughter. Congratulations, Elise. I miss Elise's editorials, but Liz is also very good.
Liz says that the birth of a child is the most dramatic and lasting change in our lives; the birth of my daughter 36 years ago confirms that. Liz goes on to say that prying families and nosy acquaintances now demand to know when she is going to have a baby. Well, it never stops. In August of this year, I went to my 50th high school reunion, and one of the biggest topics of discussion was grandchildren. I was one of the humiliated few who had to confess to none! One of my classmates has 10. So be it.
Tom Gill
North Beach
Is Spanking Right?
. . . Over the past few years, I feel that the line between child abuse and discipline has been blurred. I realize that many children have written to you with very severe cases of abuse, but who is to draw the line between abuse and spanking?
Recently, I surveyed my entire English class to determine their opinion on this issue. A majority of my class felt it may be justified to spank a child, infrequently and as nonviolently as possible, if and only if verbal discipline has failed. Along with these statistics, a majority of my classmates believed they would spank their own children in the future. These statistics were both comforting and startling. I found them comforting because my classmates explained that spanking is only justified when no other form of discipline is effective. Yet, my statistics were startling because over half admitted that they would spank their own children.
After researching this topic, I have come away with many alternatives to spanking. In my opinion, one of the most effective, even today, is merely talking about the problem. If only more parents took the time to talk to their children, I believe there would be less violence in the United States. My main reason for writing is not only to inform you of my survey results, but also to open the eyes of the public to the fine line between child abuse and disciplining your children.
Kristen Servinsky
Severn
Burning Act of Kindness
My husband and I would like to express our heartfelt appreciation to all those individuals who assisted Tom in extinguishing a serious car fire.
On Nov. 18, at approximately 8:30 a.m., Tom was driving in the southbound lane of Ritchie Highway between Jumpers Hole Road and Route 10 when he smelled a powerful odor of gasoline. He stopped on the shoulder of the road to inspect the car under the hood. Opening the hood just inches caused oxygen to rush in and fanned the fledgling fire. A fireball blew out the partial opening and the fire quickly raised the temperature of the hood making it impossible to handle. According to Tom, in less than one minute, other commuters had pulled over to help with fire extinguishers. One gentleman left his fire extinguisher to rush back to his car to call the fire department on a car phone.
Although our car was a total loss, we are profoundly grateful that no one was hurt. We want to thank the many individuals who spontaneously responded with fire extinguishers and calls to 911. It would have been a lot easier for the "volunteers" to continue driving to work on that overcast rainy Friday morning. And of course, we thank the state and county police officers and the Anne Arundel Fire Department for their prompt and professional responses, which kept fire damage isolated to our car.
We learned a couple of things that day: Promptly investigate strange odors, sounds or sights in cars; carry a large capacity fire extinguisher (Tom had a small one that depleted rapidly), and hope that the road you travel is also traveled by "a few good
men." Thank you and happy holidays.
Virginia and Tom Gracik
Glen Burnie