Dear Editor:
Columnist Mary Mitchell is right to be outraged by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals equating the mistreatment of animals to slavery, and African Americans to elephants [“Unable to learn its lesson, PETA goes off the deep end,” Aug. 16]. The historic experience and suffering of blacks is trivialized when it is held to be the same as “animal liberation,” a silly idea embraced only by a small (all-white) group of radical elitists.
Mitchell also scores a major point with her revelation that black leadership is out of touch with the black community. Many civil rights luminaries are incompetent and self-serving and involve themselves in nonessential issues while opposing public policies such as school choice and juvenile delinquency reform that would benefit inner-city families the most.
Instead of battling a hip-hop culture that promotes self-destruction of our youth, most black leaders are fighting for position for the next photo op session. We need new black leadership in the 21st century.
Ralph Conner Maywood, IL 312/377-4000 [email protected]
Ralph Conner ([email protected]), who is not a smoker, is public affairs director for The Heartland Institute and former mayor of Maywood, Illinois. This letter was published by the Chicago Sun-Times on August 26, 2005.
