Freeper LTTE and my response...please critique

His letter:
Funny man, rapper represent Great Divide

By Phillip Hamilton
The Paris News

Published September 04, 2005

When it comes to the destruction caused by hurricane Katrina, Americans have two choices — be a part of the problem or be a part of the solution.

Rapper Kanye West is part of the problem, while actor-comedian Jerry Lewis is part of the solution. That was quite evident by the difference in their widely reported comments this week.

West made a guest appearance Friday night on “A Concert for Hurricane Relief,” a benefit simulcast from New York on NBC, MSNBC, CNBC and Pax. The rapper’s appearance turned into one of those “unscripted moments” on a nationally televised event that broadcasters cannot seem to control.

Maybe the reason broadcasters find it difficult to put reins on such “unscripted moments” as West’s comments and Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” a few years ago is that such incidents create so much publicity, keeping viewers eyes fixed on the tube to see what’s going to happen next.

“George Bush doesn’t care about black people,” West said, adding that America is set up “to help the poor, the black people, the less well-off as slow as possible.”

West saw a 90-second opportunity to promote himself by making outrageous comments that were sure to make national headlines. They did — immediately.

“I hate the way they portray us in the media,” West went on to say. “If you see a black family, it says they’re looting. See a white family, it says they’re looking for food.”

He might have a point on that issue, but the benefit concert was not the place to put that issue up for public discussion. The focus should have been on helping the victims. And the rapper was way off base when he went on to declare that government authorities are intentionally dragging their feet on aid to the Gulf Coast. “They’ve given them permission to go down and shoot us,” he said.

The government hasn’t given permission to shoot anyone, but it has commissioned law enforcement officers and the military to return law and order to New Orleans.

Now, contrast West’s comments with those of Lewis, the 79-year-old actor-comedian best known for his annual Labor Day Weekend telethon, which for 40 years has raised millions of dollars for kids who suffer with muscular dystrophy. Lewis announced this week that he’s splitting the telethon’s attention between the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s needs and those of victims of hurricane Katrina. He’s asked donors to also divide their compassion when they contribute.

“If you want to send me 20 bucks for my kids, send 10. Send the other 10 to these people in this trouble,” Lewis said at a news conference detailing the changes in the annual production. “The disaster is literally that, and it has to be addressed.”

The first four hours and the last four hours of the telethon that gets under way at 9 p.m. EDT Sunday will be dedicated to hurricane relief with the rest of the Labor Day Show focusing on raising funds for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

“I know my kids will understand if I hold up the beginning of their show because there are hundreds of thousands of people who know now what suffering is,” Lewis said. “They are running out of time, and we, as generous and loving Americans, must help them.”

West and Lewis are high-profile people, but they represent the Great Divide in this country, both among individuals and corporations. Everyone is jumping on the hurricane relief bandwagon, but for different reasons.

Some, like Lewis, see the incredible need and want to do something to help the victims. Others, like West, see an incredible opportunity to promote themselves or their businesses by getting their name associated with the relief effort.

Finally, there is an important question that needs to be asked: Where’s the international relief? For years Americans have responded to disasters around the globe. Now, the disaster is here. The silence of the international community this week speaks louder than West’s prime-time rant.
http://theparisnews.com/story.lasso?wcd=22442

This is my rebuttal (critique please):

I would specifically like to address the Letter to the Editor by the sadly misinformed Phillip Hamilton on September 4.
First of all, I do have to commend him for hitting all of the Right Wing talking points of the week, but would have to say that if he was really interested in being “part of the solution”, he would educate himself first before admonishing others. Turning off Fox News would probably be the best place to start.
Kanye West is NOT part of the problem. He speaks a truth that many Americans do not want to hear.
There are TWO America’s. The America for the “Haves” and the America for the “Have Nots”. If anyone can sit and think for one moment that if a natural disaster such of this magnitude happened in Beverly Hills or Kennebunkport or Miami Beach, that such a botched rescue effort by our government would have happened, you are lying to yourself. Rich, white people would have been rescued before the end of the 2nd day. Make no mistake. But I guarantee that Mr. West reached out to his audience and grabbed them for support, just as Mr. Lewis will do.
If you don’t want to hear the truth or are incapable of hearing the truth, then that makes you as much “part of the problem” as you accuse others of being.
Next point you sorely missed. There was an order of shoot to kill given by Gov. Blanco.
Again, you are misinformed.
You fail to see the entire point here. “The Great Divide” you speak of in this country was started by your President. He continues to divide this country in ways that may never be reparable without a Civil War. In your blind hatred—and undoubtedly underlying racism—you fail to see that Mr. Lewis and Mr. West are both striving for the same thing. Raising money to help these victims. You cannot compare the mission of each of these men when one of them has failed to voice his opinion on whether or not he feels racism is the core issue. You are putting words in his mouth. As far as you or I know, Jerry Lewis may feel the same as Mr. West. You can’t prove differently on the information you chose to share so it invalidates your argument.
You are a better representative of the “Great Divide” you speak of than either of these men by spreading this type of misinformation as fact.
And finally, your spreading of more misinformation—I believe it was Fox’s talking point on Tuesday, and that was that no other country has chosen to help “poor little us”. Wrong, again. Immediate offers of aide came in to the U.S.. President Bush initially refused them (I have provided link below).
Here is the current list, but most notable—and this is the one that should shame us, Bangladesh is giving $1,000,000USD. Bangladesh Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia M.P. today made an announcement of donating $1 million towards the Hurricane victims in the United States. Wrap your head around this if you will, their GDP purchasing power-parity is $275 billion, but because of their huge population, their GDP per capita is $2000. Compare that to ours of $40000+ per capita. And the rich in our country STILL have their tax cuts while the poor in Bangladesh will suffer for the aid that they committed to help the people of the US.
Canada has also asked its citizens to conserve fuel so that the US can keep their fuel costs down. We should be in mandatory conservation right now, but other countries do without so that we can maintain the level of consumption we enjoy. Something rings in my mind about “why help someone who won’t help themselves”.
Cuba and Venezuela, two Latin American countries often singled out for criticism by administration of US President George W. Bush, were among the first to offer humanitarian assistance.
Here is a more complete list of what the world is doing—I know you won’t see it on Fox.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/usweatherworldaid

to bolster your argument-I saw this on DU, but don't have a citation of source-that some 700 people stranded at the Hyatt were taken to the Superdome and then allowed to get on buses BEFORE people at the Superdome, even though conditions at the Hyatt had been better than those in the Dome.

I know where that is (as soon as we get out of level 3,lol)

There were several high-end hotels evacuated long before the Superdome and Convention Center. They wasted no time getting the well to do guests out of there IMMEDIATELY.

Hamilton made a remark about the network not being able to censor what Kanye West had to say about Bush. That's what our country has come to. If you say something negative about their precious leader, the right wingers think you should be censored. Pretty damn sad.

The network did indeed censor West's comments. When I watched the re-broadcast at 11:00 on MSNBC, he was not even on the show. Neither was Mike Myers, who he had appeared with. So they did censor him by cutting him out entirely.

We should be in mandatory conservation right now, but other countries do without so that we can maintain the level of consumption we enjoy.

Thanks for taking the time to respond to this idiot...let's hope it gets printed.

How is asking for help and placing blame do anything to promote himself? That makes no sense to me.

Great letter Horse.

The most offensive is the undertone that he feels Jerry Lewis is "on his side" (because he is white), even without direct opinion from Jerry Lewis.:mad:

As somebody who gets LTTEs published all the time, it is usually more likely to get printed if it is short & concise. However, my local newspaper (The Hartford Courant) usually sets aside Saturdays for longer LTTEs.

Also, be prepared to support your facts, too, as I don't think the income in the US is $40,000 per capita - I think it's closer to $25,000 to $27,000. I'd also doubt that Bangladesh's income per capita is as high as $2,000... (I had to give support a while back when somebody had written in about how charitable red states are, and I stated that the list the author cited only had itemized charitable deductions, and that red states themselves get a lot of 'welfare' from blue states)

But splitting it into more paragraphs would make it easier to read.

Often times people will shy away from reading long paragraphs, but they will read the same amount of text if it is broken down into easier to tackle sections.

¶2--two Americas (no apostrophe for plurals)--"Have-nots" should have the period inside the quote marks--"a natural disaster such of this magnitude" delete "such"

¶5--"Mr. Lewis and Mr. West are striving for the same thing. Raising money to help these victims" substitute colon for period, lowercase "r" on "raising"--"...can't prove differently on the information..." substitute "given" for "on"

¶6--"poor little us." (period inside quotes)--eliminate comma between "wrong' and "again"--"aide" should be "aid"--period inside parentheses

¶7--"...one that should shame us, Bangladesh..." should read "...one that should shame us--is Bangladesh..."

Also, choose either US or U.S. and maintain consistency throughout.


Hope this helps and doesn't come across as "grammar policing." Good luck!

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/04/katrina.world.aid/index.html

it's interesting to notice that those offerings were available already 5 days ago. Bush first REFUSED them (documented on tape by the BBC) then more positive signals were sent out a couple of hours later.

Since then all teams have been on standby. But nobody let them in except for some Canadian firemen, required by Louisiana. By refusing or delaying this professional help Bush and Co are actually letting people die or to continue to suffer.