It's freedom in action
Hail to the Rittenhouse jury in Kenosha, Wis.!
The courageous 12, despite the pressures of mob "justice," attempts by protesters waving hate-filled messages, some in the media, to intimidate them, and a judge who failed the system and jury by refusing to sequester before the outside pressures began, did their jobs. This is what separates us from the rest of the world in an exceedingly positive way. It is pure freedom in action.
I have always believed in our jury system. But our politicians, pundits, and biased elements of the media, who do not believe in the people and know nothing about the facts, need to stay out of it and let our system work. If we do that, justice will be done for everyone.
SAMUEL A. PERRONI
Fayetteville
‘Whitest white man’
For an old investigative reporter, Mike Masterson sure seems to have a thin skin.
In his recent “Taking on a critic” op-ed, he thought that a gentleman from Bella Vista was calling him a racist because he referred to Mike as “the whitest white man practicing journalism in this state.” The gentleman was comparing Mike’s growing up in a small Arkansas town as expressed in Mike’s op-ed “Nations best decades” to his own experience of growing up in a larger, more diverse, Iowa city, as expressed in his letter “Not-so-good old days.”
Mike could have saved the trouble of over-the-top patting himself on the back if only he would have done some of his famous investigative work to find the meaning of the phrase “whitest white man.” A search on the Internet shows that a a New York Times blog created the definition of “whitest white man,” repeated a few days later by The Atlantic, in January 2012, while describing Mitt Romney: “It is a whiteness grounded in a retro vision of the country, one of white picket fences and stay-at-home moms and fathers unashamed of working hard for corporate America.” This definition fits Mike’s formative years as described in his op-ed. There is no definition showing “whitest white man” to mean a racist.
For Mike, here is a revised quote from Shakespeare: “The man doth protest too much, methinks.”
KENNETH WEBER
Greenbrier
On undeserved credit
Well, Arkansas is getting $2.8 billion from the government. So what are the senators and representatives for our state going to do about it? Pat themselves on the back and take bows. Next they will cut ribbons on the restored bridges and new ones. They all voted against us getting anything. Bring out the ribbons. You go, Big Bird!
BOB MASSERY
Little Rock
This was not justice
Lady Justice climbed down from her stripper pole, threw her purple boa and matching garter belt and sequined thong into the cheering throng and bared her bare buttocks to the entire world.
It is official: Vigilantes in open carry states with the instincts and empathy of feral wolverines can go hunting for trouble… and find it readily. They can walk around an area filled with people, kill two of them and wound another, get arrested and at trial, get exonerated by a jury.
That’s America 2021.
Kyle Rittenhouse was 17 when he loaded up his AR-15, crossed a state line to “help” folks caught up in the protest that was staged to protest the killing of a black man by a white policeman.
What you have is yet another example of justice denied: An inept prosecutor and bumbling case presentation; an ultra-aggressive defense, and; a judge who got caught up in the drama of a nationally televised trial and appeared to be auditioning for Judge Judy’s replacement.
Mark this down: This verdict ensures that others will die at the hands of Wild, Wild West bit actor rejects who are hailing Rittenhouse’s actions and will emulate him so they, too, can be seen as a heroic patriot.
He is not that. He is now officially a symbol of a society out of control, a newly minted linatic icon for gun fanatics and armed haters.
Open carry. Shoot to kill. Claim of self-defense.
Open and shut case of a judicial system gone south. And, the sad part is, there is no relief in sight.
George S. Smith
Emmet, Arkansas
Little wonder, really
I’m surprised Mike Masterson consistently blames “woke radical” leftists for all the country’s woes, and then wonders why we have so much polarization in this country.
If you want to help stop the polarization, Mr. Masterson, start by looking in your own heart.
BRAD BAILEY
Fayetteville