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Letter to the Editor: Opinion piece on ‘white privilege’ off base

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[Editor’s note: This letter is in response to the opinion article, “White privilege on full display amid insurrection,” by Springfield Business Journal Web Editor Geoff Pickle.]

Dear editor,

You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but you are not entitled to a unique set of facts which fit your agenda. Reality is truth.

How was “white privilege” on display during the D.C. riots on Jan. 6? How were the trespassers using “white privilege”? The evidence is suggesting that they were able to breach the Capitol because of incompetence by the Capitol Police. And there is good reason to believe the FBI did not adequately alert and assist the police. You opine that if the trespassers were of color there would have [been] many more fatalities. How did you derive that? A significant number of the Capitol Police are Black. Would they have gunned down fellow Blacks? If so, why? Did the unarmed woman (military veteran) who was shot and killed by the police use her “white privilege”?

Regardless, the breach of the Capitol was inexcusable and a travesty.

Your most fantastical statements refer to the summer riots. You paint a picture of benevolent, peaceful protestors met by “harsh resistance” and “some bad apples.” Your ideological biases, like the media, prevent you from understanding what you see. The riots were anything but peaceful, and the perpetrators were Black and white. Scores of businesses were burned and looted, police stations were burned and federal courthouses were attacked. People were murdered. In most cases, the police did little to prevent the mayhem, by order of the liberal mayors and governors. As the Seattle mayor put it: It’s the “summer of love.” Are white thugs worse than Black thugs?

You say “their history with the police is long and horrifying” referring to Black citizens. That is gross hyperbole. People could interpret it to mean that thousands of Blacks have been and are currently being wantonly slaughtered. Instances of police brutality and misconduct in America today are horrible but rare.

Finally, why is such an editorial relevant in a business journal? The print and broadcast media are full of outlets eager to divide the country along race, i.e., N.Y. Times, WaPo, K.C. Star, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, et al. Business folks in southwest Missouri are too busy to have time to do penitence for the color of their skin. Stick to your knitting and report on the business environment.

—Ron Neville, of Springfield

Comments

15 comments on this story |
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user33376

Thank you!

Monday, January 18, 2021

I totally agree with Mr Neville. This type of article has no place in a business news paper and was totally off base in many of its points

Monday, January 18, 2021
neil.ruda

This is the reason I dumped my News-Leader subscription. Please provide BUSINESS articles and columns.

Monday, January 18, 2021
seahsker@yahoo.com

Ron,

Thanks for responding to this editorial. Everything you stated here was exactly what I was thinking when I read this. Especially concerning was the comments about the summer riots as mostly peaceful protests. There could be nothing further from the truth.

Monday, January 18, 2021
travis@millerstructures.com

I could not agree more. If feels like the SBJ has an agenda when articles like this are included.

Monday, January 18, 2021
lleek@christian-associates.com

Mr. Neville,

Thank you for taking the time to address what up until now has been a very respected business publication. The Springfield Business Journal is not the place for this type of "editorial" commenting. Stick to business news and remind the editors to keep their political opinions to them selves.

Monday, January 18, 2021
dcatlin754

I can't help but notice the irony that privileged whites who are happy enough to read in SBJ about golf course awards and wine reviews without complaint now object to the paper's coverage of white privilege as somehow irrelevant to business in Springfield, and something for which they are "too busy to have time." Clearly, Geoff Pickle, you have hit a nerve that needed to be hit.

Monday, January 18, 2021
user10072

Well written and reasoned. I agree wholeheartedly. I thought about rebutting the article myself, so thank you, Ron. In my experience, most people who throw out the "racist" or "white privilege" charge display their own bigotry by generalizing and putting groups of people in labeled categories. Geoff's thought process is an example of that bigotry, in my opinion. Gotta give SBJ some kudos for having the courage to put this out there, instead of censoring, like we're seeing more of now.

Monday, January 18, 2021
user21715

I deeply appreciate the business journal posting this letter to the editor. I could not agree more with the writer.. I do not want political opinions in the business journal. this is not why we subscribe.

Monday, January 18, 2021
joshsapp

Ron: Thank you for having the courage to speak out in support of truth and reality instead of just continuing to remain quiet like the majority. I admit that I did not have the courage to write a letter to the editor. The only thing the editor's article accomplishes is moving race relations backwards by misrepresenting the truth.

SBJ: Thank you for allowing Mr. Neville the freedom to voice his opinion on your site. I enjoy your business reporting. Please focus on reporting on area business. There are already several sources stoking hate and division, we don't need anymore.

Monday, January 18, 2021
jfaught@regalplastic.com

Perfect. My thoughts exactly.

Tuesday, January 19, 2021
tom@tomkissee.com

Thank you, Ron Neville, for writing.

Tuesday, January 19, 2021

Thank you Mr. Neville for rebutting an opinion piece that contained exactly zero factual evidence of the author's claims.

Mr. Pickle's piece was filled with bias and hyperbole. This bias clouds his opinion of the political violence we witnessed this summer ($2B in damage done, 20+ people killed, countless livelihoods destroyed, 150+ government buildings damaged, wanton destruction of public property). ALL political violence should be condemned, including the lawlessness seen at the Capitol. When a double standard is employed to excuse some instances of violence while decrying others, it further erodes the rule of law and people's confidence in our government.

SBJ should stick to reporting on business.

Tuesday, January 19, 2021
BrinaThomas

Great article. Great prospective. This is what freedom of speech is supposed to look like. There are always two side to every story. I am glad to see that both sides are being reported. I do agree with the other commenters about the original article not having a place in the business journal. I am sure if we are following the mission statement of the SBJ, you would truly see that the original article is not serving the mission.

Wednesday, January 20, 2021
sajones@libtechsol.com

Thank you, Ron.

Saturday, January 23, 2021
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