Herbert's assertions are insulting

I am appalled that The Chronicle wouldpublish an editorial of misinformation like the Sept. 30 column entitled “Back to Reality” by Amelia Herbert. The article was nothing but propaganda worthy of Michael Moore. She fails to realize that the “facts” she states are simply untrue and in many cases unrelated to reality.

There is simply no correlation between denouncing rap music and Dick Cheney cursing. One degrades and has been known to cause violence among a minority group, another is just a man expressing himself in earnest. Possibly wrongly, but still he is not promoting violence or degrading a people.

Her comment on jails is absolutely absurd. Black students have a guaranteed spot in schools as much as any student in America. Jails are over crowded as it is, and there is no reason why, as she insultingly puts it, that a black individual won’t have a place in class, as opposed to a jail cell.

In saying this she insults blacks by degrading them to mere pawns of instincts. It’s saying that like some kind of animal, students without schooling will commit crimes, which isn’t true. Every person makes that decision for themselves.

She comments on drug sentencing, again insulting people. But this time instead of blacks she insults the “wealthy white man.” She says that crack users (generally of a poorer class) get harsher sentencing than cocaine users (of the wealthy class). This is blatantly untrue. No drug offender will ever “walk free” like Herbert states, and the only reason why sentencing might not be equal is simply that good representation costs money, and if you can’t afford it you will endure the consequences. It has always been thus, but still no drug offender will not have at least probation, since there are minimum requirements of time for offenses. But Herbert would like to not see these so that she can perpetuate her lies.

However, I hope in the future that readers take these kinds of articles with a “grain of salt,” because Herbert’s article was an ocean of it.

Matthew Rich