THE PUBLIC MIND: `JFK' COLUMN OFFERS STUBBORN BLINDNESS

To Ken Newton:

Rarely does ill-informed diatribe offend me to this point; I let it pass generally as there is little hope of me inspiring critical thought. Yet the stubborn blindness in your Jan. 10 column I cannot fathom; it seems you too have fallen prey to the American media myth surrounding JFK's demise. You preen your vast knowledge of the matter with a cocky beak, worn dull with use. The comparison of the idiotic Elvis "conspiracy" to the JFK debacle is apples-to-oranges; the "conspiracy thing" is not in my nature either, but I can recognize fear and fallibility in power when I see them.

Your assertion that Oliver Stone, far from the stereotypical Hollywood figure, could somehow evade today's libel laws in his presentation of information is unwarranted; it may be "just a movie," but its subject matter is no fiction. And I'm sorry you feel Stone conspires against you if you should disagree ... sometimes we need a good slap to wake us up, Ken. I see that ~only "since" you saw "JFK" have you bothered to pick up a b~~ook for reference; if you had not yet questioned the Warren results before then, at your age, you too are guilty of passivity and naive acceptance. (I am 22 and was fed the same rhetoric as you in school I chose at age 12 to look for more.) Never mind your scary faith in Cape's police force, or your doubt in Stone's weekend party abilities (both irrelevant). It is your limited view in general regarding threats to your womblike point of view that disturbs me. Read at least one book before you die, Ken: "The Media Monopoly" by Ben Bagdikian. Eighty percent of all U.S. media is owned by less than 20 multinational corporations. Example: NBC, owned by RCA, owned by GE, a defense contractor. Check NBC's nuclear accident reporting sometime.

Why in the world could not JFK, the biggest threat to the biggest American business (war) be a victim of a high-level conspiracy? Perhaps the government is "uncurious," Mr. Newton, because it already knows the truth! Don't be so desperate!

Myra Michelle Poe

Jackson