Speak Out A 05/22/04

Wonderful concert

I WENT to the Jackson Junior High choir concert. The students were wonderful. They kept the words "God" and "Lord" in their songs. Wonderful.

Fantastic talent

THE POP concert at Jackson High School was wonderful. I enjoyed it so much, and I had no idea the level of talent that these high schoolers have achieved. "American Idol"? Who needs it? We have better singers in Jackson. The slide show at the end wrapping up their year almost brought me to tears as I remembered my last year of high school. Congratulations to the seniors, and congratulations on a job well done.

One of the best

OUR SON had the honor and privilege to be a student under the special education teacher at Jackson Middle School. The soda tab collection was just one of the many classroom projects that were enjoyed by all the students. Marty, you are one of Jackson's finest and will be missed next year. God's blessings.

Competing capitals

I AM happy that Cape Girardeau antique retailers want the city to become a tourist mecca for the shops. I hate to break the news, however, but every town on this side of the Mississippi promotes itself as the Antique Capital of the World.

Fueling the hatred

THOSE WHO think the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners is a minor issue are showing their lack of understanding of the larger issue. Many clerical leaders in Iraq and throughout the Middle East use our actions against Muslims to argue that there is still a crusader mentality among Christians. Just as we often ask ourselves -- "What kind of religion would call for suicide bombings?" -- they are now free to ask, "What kind of religion calls for sexual humiliation and rape?" Neither of these actions is part of the mainstream religious thought, but both are seen by outsiders as indicative of the mentality of "those people."

Beer bust turns wild

I LIVE on a county road in Fruitland. I have a neighbor who has a teenage son. For the past two weekends, he has thrown a beer bust for the area teenagers. Last weekend, it got out of hand. There were kids having sex all out in the field, and there were a half-dozen fights going on. I called the sheriff's department. To my surprise, the deputies came out, but they never went to the property to check out the situation.

Getting an education

REMOVE THE name Indian forever. For months we have had an overload of Speak Out and letters. Many of those were heartfelt efforts to explain that being a Southeast Missouri State University Indian was out of respect for the spirit. Many Speak Out comments and some letters were to insult and belittle anyone dumb enough to be proud of the name. It's obvious they are trying to educate the uninformed. Let's remove any reference to Indian names in sports, parks and trails. Now we are educated.

Dancing Indian

I SEE nothing wrong with a mascot dancing on the field in a Native American costume. I'm part Cherokee myself. I attended a community college that had a dancing Indian.

Defining 'cruel'

I AM absolutely outraged by comments in this and other papers across the country describing our treatment of the Iraqi prisoners as "cruel." Either we redefine the word "cruel" or correctly use it as we express our anger over the beheadings of Nick Berg and Daniel Pearl, the treatment of the four soldiers in Fallujah and the numerous Iraqis who suffered under Saddam.