I am very confused by a recent column entitled "Sam's Place and the Evils of White Gentrification" (DP 2/10/92). Are Sarah Goldfine and Theresa Weir trying to say that the young boy who robbed the store at knife point was completely innocent? Granted, shooting the 14-year old might not have been the best solution, but we certainly cannot call Andre McNatte an innocent victim. After all, he was committing armed robbery. Second of all, it seems that two DP articles in the same edition conflict. In the aforementioned column, it is insinuated that Sam's Place closed due to a successful boycott. Flipping to the front page, the DP reports that Sam's Place was closed due to a second robbery attempt the previous Thursday. Which reason is correct? Additionally, why aren't there more black business owners? And why are blacks forced to shop at white businesses where "the prices are high, the merchandise is poor, and the owners are at best rudely racist"? How can such a business survive in a black community? There must be some kind of demand for their goods or wouldn't the store go out of business? Maybe I don't have the same business sense as the authors, but who is buying these expensive goods in all of these depressed black neighborhoods? According to the owner of Sam's Place, the store had a mixed clientele. I've never been there, but you describe the sale of fresh pastries and exotic coffee. These items are hardly a necessity in an economically depressed person's life. Besides, Acme is just a few blocks away. Also, what exactly are "block watches"? In my neighborhood they are used to deter crime -- I hardly think this is a form of vigilantism. And I think that the owner's statement about being on the "winning side this time" -- please correct me if I'm wrong -- could possibly refer to the war against crime. After all, he does say "this time." How was he defeated "last time?" And where did you find your facts? The "1990 Uniform Crime Reports" published by the FBI -- which falls under the Department of Justice -- lists violent crimes per 100,000 people up 23.1 percent since 1981, not zero percent as was erroneously reported. You can check it yourself in the 1992 edition of The World Almanac on page 954 -- if you need help finding it, I'm sure the librarian at Van Pelt can help you. In your last sentence you state that you want to "protest the media's lies" and that's exactly what I am doing. Please get back to us when you have some solid, accurate facts and some arguments that are rational and justifiable. Until then, keep alienating the white community and increasing racial tension. STEPHEN EULER Veterinary '93
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