The News and Observer from Raleigh, North Carolina • 25

THE NEWS OBSERVER SUNDAY APRIL 29 2007 Sunday Forum 25A 'f Letters to the editor of the Editorial Page What to make of a sheriff's comments on immigrants Sheriff should resign Regarding the April 22 news story "Sheriffs help feds deport illegal aliens': am appalled by the remarks of Sheriff Terry Johnson of Alamance County It makes me quite nervous to think that an elected official can be ignorant and racist enough to say that adults in Mexico routinely have sex with 12- and 13-year-old girls Johnson would perhaps be surprised to find out that the vast majority of Mexicans are not pedophiles and also that not all Hispanic people are Mexican Our society needs to mature to a point in which we no longer tolerate open bigotry toward any group of people We as a society have decided that it is no longer acceptable for individuals to make hateful remarks toward homosexuals or African-Americans We now must send a message that Johnson's hate talk and hysteria will not be tolerated by seeing to it that Johnson resign his position in the light of his ignorant and racist remarks Barrett Johnson Raleigh 4 5r i ta aht I 1: -I I Ilia RI irr cly 0 '110 1011 1: WI ----o 4 ill tp I -1 i tit 4 a f) I '46 to''''' -7-- th A '''''er sr I 40 1 i i A 1 i I -4 't l' 1 I 1 i- I Who's the criminal? For about 25 years many business people have encouraged illegal immigration Government at the national state and local levels have condoned and ignored our immigration laws Your April 22 about Sheriff Terry Johnson from Alamance County comes across as if he were the criminal As a nation we must decide that immigration laws be enforced or we need to change them I do not understand why Johnson's approach isn't being implemented nationwide One other comment Since we are caring for about 12 million citizens from other countries why not bill the country of origin for health care education and legal expenses (such as jails and prisons) we have incurred as a result of their citizens' being here illegally? EL Thompson Carp Dangerous and chilling Reading Sheriff Terry Johnson's words April 22 about illegal immigrants in 2007 is disturbing to say the least: "Their values are a lot different their morals than what we have here In Mexico there's nothing wrong with having sex with a 12- 13- year-old girl they do a lot of drinking down in Mexico" Equally disturbing is The placement of this dangerous generalization on the front page of the Sunday paper with little to nothing to challenge it Though a gentle response by Marco Zarate president of the NC Society of Hispanic Professionals follows and perspectives about fears of profiling are buried on Page 15A the impact of the sheriffs message remains: dangerous negative chilling Just when I thought progress was being made a North Carolina leader uses his platform to perpetuate stereotypes and receives positive press coverage: one step forward one giant leap back Betsy Polk Joseph Chapel Hill Alamance Sheriff Terry Johnson is opening a "deportation hub" jail in Graham STAFF PHOTO BY ETHAN HYMAN Talk about stereotypes As an American who lived in Mexico for almost 10 years and is married to a Mexican I recognized Sheriff Terry Johnson's racist comments about Mexican morals and values as ridiculous and ignorant Too bad his quotes also helped reinforce negative stereotypes have of white male sheriffs in the South On another note 1 would expect a higher standard from The regarding the use of the derogatory ORE term illegal alien At the 1994 Unity AI convention the four minority journal: cnewsob- ism groups National Association of mopinion to Hispanic Journalists Asian American on this topic Journalists Association Native Amer- ican Journalists Association and Na MORE twnewsobomkpinion to On this topic The ones with values Sheriff Terry Johnson is quoted in the April 22 News Observer: "Their values are a lot different morals than what we have here" Johnson said "In Mexico there's nothing wrong with having sex with a 12- 13-year old grill They do a lot of drinking down in Mexico" If the sheriffs racist comments are indicative of our values 1 would have to agree with him Their values are different A few years ago my daughter was REA! due to deliver her third child Her Go to two oldest were to stay with me for server the duration I had gone to the grro- read more lett( cery store for some treats and sweet READ 0 Go to servenco read more letters Implicit profiling Regarding the April 22 news story "Sheriffs help feds deport illegal Migration is increasing globally in large part because of the increasing inequality across political borders North Carolina is at the forefront of the globalization of the American South and as such must be ready to shed its misconceptions of the other and instead focus on understanding While we do not condone migration by nonlegal means we are concerned by the racial profiling implicit in the actions of Alamance County Sheriffs Department and the inflammatory comments of Sheriff Terry Johnson about Mexican Latinos in North Carolina Further as noted Latinos are not more likely to be pedophiles or alcoholics than the general population and crime statistics in the county as quoted in the article indicate that Latinos are not overrepresented in crime statistics Building a state-of-the-art detention facility that will pay for itself through racial profiling raises serious concerns for our society Margaret Bentley PhD Professor of Nutrition and Associate Dean for Global Health wwl Sign Wake up Regarding the April 22 news story "Sheriffs help feds deport illegal Congratulations to Sheriff Terry Johnson of Alamance County for living up to the commitments of his oath of office As one of many like-minded voters in Wake County I encourage Sheriff Donnie Harrison to sign on to the deportation program as well The law-abiding residents of Wake County deserve the protection The illegals will be motivated to stay off the deportation radar screen while Congress wrangles with immigration reform Looks like a win-win to me cereal and left my wallet in the grocery cart About one hour later a Hispanic man came to my door with my wallet in hand He apologized for his delay in returning it to me He was unfamiliar with the area and needed directions I tried to give him the cash that I had in the wallet He refused His name is Simon and I feel lucky to have him as a friend My husband and I have visited Mexico many times We are always humbled by the warmth and munificence of the country and her people tional Association of Black Journalists issued the following statement on this term Except in direct quotations do not use the phrase illegal alien or the word alien in copy or in headlines to refer to citizens of a foreign country who have come to the US with no documents to show that they are legally entitled to visit work or live here Such terms are considered pejorative not only by those to whom they are applied but by many people of the same ethnic and national backgrounds who are in the US legally Lisa Paulin Professor of Mass Communication NC Central University Durham Lara Vaz Doctoral candidate Health Behavior and Health Education UNC School of Public Health Chapel Hill Mary Hennessy Raleigh David McAleer Garner a NE11: stLAci GENTE TA9 la er'ci Rig Co oice Co ned 1 1 6 i e- 00 7 A 03 curo I a 02 exu ttgjED 0- 03 I Coo DOI all 1 1 II 13 T- -------A- Mr41 ill Tim (1 Ile 'tut li 1 -t rci l'4-i ht It rt 1 41: No' 03)vier ees-Benz 00 ril-1" 04 exu 0 4 0 I s-- 4 it awatio 4' a i I it titt 443 slim (14:" i "11111Lz 4S 4 1 try( i -4 tilt't Ptil t') I 114)1 op--' t(iP All tiff 05 an Rove 1 MIA CeirS It ti ri 1114 of 41411:: tigi5N Luko voitNI II A oll4 64 471 citio 11xste large Boxst II Vi erd 1 41 it I 111 OOP 8 4 I 1 dol a A likk41 '014 k1 4 -old oi44141 40 Op Go Got YPe ype ype pe i ope oop oope 00 4 I 1YP 1 0 ype YPe 4i Adt pe rr o4 ang 4 sO lecOu 0 "OK 00 Jo 114 00 3t '0 (30 400 400 I 6m 3 4400 I 30 (el 501) 0 K320 0 4 500 sk 500 L500 01zope oop oope 401 0 oo 3ii 44 1 4vie ze e1 100 00 G00 1 Islp 411 34t 41 14 4111 11 41 414 41 000 mf OOP 40 OSkt a (1s4 40P OPP 7 4 II 1 4Po 44 I I Beetle assa itopr I ouare 1 haeto Mk a zo c)r)o 10t 4 4ao d(o )tto dst 0 401 Itt 14 10t 300 )00 1A 110 1 la 101 000 IP 4PS 40P 7 OPP Ogo 4-11 4 1 0 Ir 0 I 11P Woo 0 0 0 fr 0 21 325x 0 0 21 O2 1 0 2 2 0 2 0 1 0 21 I 41 111 be 4 1 1 ttri (Lib 1- 0 10P 4-- Po 4 1slo 1 IA 4 4 1 i1 oy 1 4 ubar 1 ores odillaR 11 0174at2011 ondI200 odillso so 110 400 4ii0 00P 400 0 I 400 4100 ECT ti )1114t111 4 0o rUDO to4 ito vo 11151114V' Orr: 141 tr1 CrZil COO! 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