SPEAKOUT

Problems are like everyone else's

THE THING that surprises me the most about the crucifixion of the boy in Jackson the fact that it was ever reported in the media at all. Most bad things that happen in Jackson are simply swept under the rug and covered up and never reported at all. I believe if this would have happened on Good Hope Street in Cape Girardeau, or in the Bootheel of Southeast Missouri, this would have been on TV and in the news every single day. People believe that Jackson is some sort of Utopia. that's not correct. They have their problems just like anybody else.

Others are treated badly too

I WOULD like to say that the Jackson boy who got treated so badly is from one of the finest families you will ever know. He is the most gracious and mannerly young boy that exists today. But there are children in the Jackson schools who are treated almost as badly on a daily basis. Unless you have a certain name or status, you do not belong in the Jackson schools. I understand Columbine and the other schools where all the shooting has happened, it was because the kids were treated like the Jackson boy and the other kids in the Jackson schools. They did something about it, and then have to pay the rest of their lives for the anger that the status kids inflicted on them.

Missed point, or attempt to mislead?

IT IS unbelievable how badly people are missing the point regarding the issue of sensible gun laws in this country. Regarding the comment in Speak Out on banning all of our problems: If pipe bombs were currently being used to kill a lot of people, then talking about laws to ban pipe bombs would make sense. But this hardly ever happens. LP gas tanks -- we have no problem being killed with LP gas tanks. Automobiles -- when someone is killed in a car accident, it's not a problem of people intentionally using an automobile to kill somebody. And on and on through all of his examples. These are not even close to apt analogies. When callers make these kind of statements, do they really miss the point as badly as it seems, or are they attempting to intentionally mislead us?

Put blame on those responsible

A CALLER says shame on the parents, shame on the students and shame on Jackson. I beg to differ. Jackson didn't do this to this boy. Seven or eight people did this to this boy. Seven kids and some parents and a couple of girls watched. It's a horrible abomination, what they did. I was horrified when I read the story. But let's not blame Jackson for what happened. Jackson had nothing to do with it. Jackson is a great place. People from Cape are moving into Jackson just as fast as we can build houses for them. Everyone wants to live in Jackson because it is such a nice community. Don't blame it on the town. Blame it on the people who are responsible.

Time for moral leadership

THESE THRILL-seeking juvenile delinquents and their delinquent parents are an example of the moral collapse of our society under this immoral Clinton. The anything-goes mentality rampant under Clinton is showing up all over America. The only way to stop it is with a high moral leadership that will inspire Americans to their highest goals in life and bring back the values we all believe in. Bill Bradley is the personification of high morals and compassion. He will lead America back to its true destiny. Material wealth is nothing if character is lacking. It's a complete waste, as we have seen in this Clinton debacle.

Don't expect to get the truth

I WANT to comment about an article in your paper on the Waco activists that said there are some who do not believe that John Danforth will be able to get at the truth of the Waco massacre. I don't believe he will either. After all, he was appointed by Janet Reno, and I don't trust her any further than I could throw an elephant. Ed Dowd, remember, is a longtime Democratic activist. He's a federal prosecutor. I don't trust him.

Show support for American workers

I'M SORRY to say it, but I will not be able to vote for Congresswoman Emerson in the future. I have supported her fully until this time. Since I read the article that said she wants to resume trade with Iraq, Iran, Libya, Vietnam and China, I can't in good conscience vote for her. After all, we just heard a week or so ago that Florsheim is leaving Cape Girardeau for a foreign country. Superior Electric left Cape Girardeau on account of a foreign country. Until these people start thinking of the American worker, I will not vote for any of them. Trade with foreign countries is all right as long as it's on a fair basis, but look at the great trade deficits we have with China and Japan. Our politicians sit on their thumbs. I feel sorry for the farmers, but the farmers are not the only ones who are hurting from these foreign imports. For someone to want more trade with China when everything you pick up in the store now is made in China, I will not, and cannot, vote for such a person.

No plan to save the whole bridge

I KEEP reading in the Missourian about saving all of the old bridge. The original thought was to save only the concrete portion on the Missouri side as an overview and perhaps rebuilding the old toll booth as a visitor's center or a self-serve business center. Certainly not to save that entire old bridge.

No respect for flag at parade

HOW DARE people criticize children for getting candy at a parade. If it weren't for the candy, they probably wouldn't want to come at all and not even be exposed to a parade. My criticism rests with the adults who didn't stand when the U.S. flag passed by at the beginning of the parade. They just kept parking their butts in their lawn chairs.

Squash and gourd are different

I WAS just wondering why the fair board cannot hire judges who know what they're doing. You can raise your crop, your gourds or whatever, and stand in line and fill out papers, take them up there and enter them in the right category, then the judges turn around and give a first place award to something that doesn't even belong in that category. We took a large gourd up there. They also had a turban squash in the same category. They gave the turban squash first place. If a judge can't tell the difference between a squash and a gourd, then he shouldn't be a judge.

What is wrong with this picture?

THIS IS to those who feel because there was no physical harm done to the victim in Jackson, that everything will be OK. I am speaking from experience. I was a victim of a kidnapping-hostage situation. Physical abuse generally heals. The mental abuse this victim experienced will never go away. By the time the authorities got done with the victim, he probably felt like the criminal. Victims have very few rights. This victim will probably carry the diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder. He will probably have nightmares equal to those of Vietnam vets. He will probably have flashbacks at certain sounds, smells, movies, time of day and time of year. These seven perpetrators are walking free, and the victim is basically in a prison across the state. What is wrong with this picture?

Hospitals provide quality services

I'M A resident of Cape Girardeau, and I just want to voice my opinion. I have nothing against competitive business. I think it's the core of the nation. But I'm wondering if all these fast medical facilities are under the same criteria and laws as both hospitals in town. Both hospitals have served the community wonderfully. Now you have these get-rich doctors who want to set up all their imaging centers and things which are directly going to affect hospital personnel and hospital business. I know it's real lucrative for the physicians, but I don't think it's real good for the hospitals or the communities, because hospitals are kept under such stringent guidelines. Who's to watch over all these doctors? Is it the same people? Are they going to be held to the same regulations? I'd just like to know, because I think the community deserves good medical treatment, and fly-by-nights are not the way to do it. Doctors getting rich quick is not the way to do it.

Teens may not have moral grounding

I'M RESPONDING to the series of articles on the Jackson prank. In my opinion, what everyone is saying is correct on what should have been done. The boys should be punished justly, because of what they did to this young man, who has been scarred for life. What is wrong with the whole deal? It doesn't matter if it's in Jackson or wherever, the morals of this country have sunk down to where some teen-agers may not really know what morals are. Or, for that matter, their parents may not know. They've got to be taught this stuff at home. I can't fathom teen-agers thinking up things like this to do. These are not pranks. It's more serious than the little pranks of 20 or 30 years ago. We can blame a lot of it on the erosion of this society, and the American people have to wake up and realize that our country is a wonderful place to live, but it's declining. The morals have to be put back into the government, into the communities, and it has to start at the big-city and small-town level. Everyone needs to get on this bandwagon. Schools should be allowed to punish students appropriately. Parents should allow the schools to discipline the kids.

Come clean with veterans too

AFTER YEARS of lies and cover-ups by our government about nuclear radiation, now come the reports about Rocky Mountain Flats, Los Alamos and the gas diffusion plant in Paducah. It's time for all these vet organizations to join together and find all the men from WWII who were exposed to radiation and have suffered for years with no help from our government. They need to be compensated for all the years our government has denied any danger to them. If our government can give billions to any country in difficulty, then our own veterans' needs should be taken care of too.

Forgiveness is slow in coming

SOME RESIDENTS of Jackson are calling for forgiveness of the perpetrators in the hazing incident there. Forgiveness is slow in coming, I think, because people don't feel justice has been done. To those who ask the question, "Haven't they been punished enough?" I think one only has to look at this situation. The victim in this case is still being punished. He's been removed from his family and his community, driven away by shame for an act he didn't commit. Meanwhile, the perpetrators are at home, eating dinner every night with their families, seeing their friends and playing for glory on the football field. The school board and the court system are legally only allowed to do so much. If my child, God forbid, humiliated another to the point that he felt he had to leave town, you can bet he wouldn't be playing football. He'd be working part-time to pay for the victim's expenses while he's living so far from home. Football glory will pass at the end of the season. Good character will last a lifetime. Forgiveness is always easier to bestow when the wrongdoers truly try to make amends, not just fulfill the minimum legal requirement.