Column response; the bigger problem; Mac gets it right; protect the inventor

Column response

Regarding the Dec. 11 column, “Five reforms to prevent another Ferguson, Mo.” by Brian Gilmore:

I know this won’t be popular with all, but it needs to be said.

Gilmore makes some interesting points, but like many others, all one-sided.

▪ Know what police are doing: Yes, to protect the officers doing their jobs of protecting the public.

▪ Police demilitarization: Police are militarized because of violent protest that destroy private property and endanger innocent lives.

▪ Make racial profiling illegal — including profiling all white police officers as racist.

▪ Mass incarceration and prison demographics: Has anyone considered prison demographics mirror criminal demographics?

▪ Lack of decent job opportunities for African Americans: How many African Americans have already chosen welfare as a career?

African Americans need better neighborhoods, but who destroys those neighborhoods out of protest?

Gilmore is correct in that we have a problem that needs correcting, but you can’t correct an entire problem if you only address half of it. Maybe it’s time for the majority of African Americans to start addressing those who reflect poorly on their race instead of excusing their criminal activity. As for the media, return to reporting news instead of sensationalizing racial tension.

Chrysanne Mason, Euless

The bigger problem

To Larry Hathaway’s Dec. 20 letter, “All lives matter,” the reason that black lives matter is because a black person is killed every 28 hours by a police officer (according to the “Operation Ghetto Storm” report issued in 2013 by the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement), and this stat does not apply to white people, who are usually given the benefit of the doubt.

Today’s police shoot first and ask questions later. Read Radley Balko’s Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America’s Police Forces.

Get educated about the topic before using the “urban crime” trope. It is not just three unarmed black men who have been killed.

— Sharon Gjertsen, Fort Worth

Mac gets it right

I very often strongly disagree with Mac Engel’s expressed views on the abilities or performance of athletes I happen to like.

But I want to commend him for having the courage to take a stand in favor of athletes who exercise their right to freedom of expression as they utilize their status as celebrities to take a stand against racial oppression.

I am continually puzzled by the degree to which my very nice Christian friends and neighbors seem to have a knee-jerk reaction against any suggestion that racial discrimination is in any way involved in the treatment of blacks in our society.

The idea that minorities shold “just get over it” and stop “playing the race card” seems to be the widely held opinion, although seldom expressed in exactly those terms. Thanks Mac for your stand on this.

You will probably never change the views of my fellow septuagenarians, but I am seeing hopeful signs in the younger generations.

— Charles Alexander, Benbrook

Protect the inventor

In early December, I had the opportunity to host the opening night Dallas screening of a new documentary titled Inventing to Nowhere. This film examines the significance of the American patent system and the challenges currently facing our nation’s inventors.

As an active member in the Fort Worth section of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), I see firsthand the challenges our members face when it comes to protecting their intellectual property.

Although we’re fortunate to live in a country with a strong patent system that has been in place for more than 200 years, the debate in recent years has shifted to altering our strong patent system. If changes are made, it would create even more difficulty for inventors to protect their intellectual property, as well as slow economic growth and job creation, ultimately stifling innovation.

As the 114th Congress begins, I encourage lawmakers to consider the implications of overly broad changes to our patent system. Inventing to Nowhere shines a light on the devastating impact such reforms could deliver and illustrates the overwhelming need to protect the American inventor at all cost.

— Candy Robinson, Midlothian

This story was originally published December 24, 2014 at 2:53 PM with the headline "Column response; the bigger problem; Mac gets it right; protect the inventor."