What if?

In response to Jack Bradigan
Spula's "Just a Child: Learning the Facts of Death" (June 19):

What if Craig Heard was "a wonderful little, smiling
little (white) person"?

What if officers Serge Savitcheff, Hector Padgham, and
Mike Tymoch were people of color?

What if we had a police force that was proportional to
the population it is "protecting and serving" (2000 census: African
Americans 39 percent, Latinos 13 percent) and not the 72 percent whites that it
now has?

What if we had a citizen review committee?

What if we had a press that would not repeat [regarding a
previous incident]: "[Edward] Jones had a long record of driving
convictions and seizures --- and because he was judged guilty of depraved
indifference --- he drew a long prison term," but would report, "Mr. Jones is
black and would not take a plea. Officer McLaughlin is white and recovered from
his injuries. Mr. Jones' family, friends, church, and Rev. Graves vouched and
pleaded for mercy for Mr. Jones before sentencing and for him to be sentenced
for time served, he had already served 1 year-plus in jail without bail. Mr.
Jones was sentenced to 18 years. All Officer McLaughlin has to do is forgive
Mr. Jones, and Mr. Jones would be a free man.

What if we people of color had a forum to express
ourselves?

What if we as a community, people of and not of color,
consider each other as citizens and not let politicians, press, or police
divide us by dehumanizing some of us?

What if we (Rochesterians) as a republic reconsider all
of the aforementioned what if's, except changing Craig Heard's color or the
fact that he was a child?

Carl Smith,
Hayward Avenue, Rochester

Jack
Bradigan Spula responds: An RPD
source says Officer McLaughlin --- who was nearly killed by Jones' car --- is
on medical leave and is still unable to return to work. And just to clarify:
When I wrote about the Jones case early last year, I argued that the system had
treated Jones much too harshly. I agreed with some justice advocates that
Jones, who had been turning his life around, should have been charged (if at
all) with criminal negligence, not assault. A conviction on the former charge
could have meant a much shorter prison term.

More on Popick

Jon Popick is a trenchant
commentator, a gonzo movie reviewer with a broad knowledge of movies and
American pop-culture, a sardonic intellectual of the sort beloved by so many of
us educated liberals.

He is also a misogynist on a par with certain local rock
radio personalities. I have been offended by his dismissal of women in his
reviews ever since he came on board, but after reading mail responding to his
review of Ya Ya Sisterhood (The Mail,
June 19, June 26), I can't tell myself it's inconsequential any longer.

Popick uses the term "chick-flick" to signify any movie
pertaining to women's lives, interests, and stories. This idiom, he makes clear
at every opportunity, equally connotes poor quality, shallowness, and
inadequacy.

Mass-market, brain-dead, testosterone-soaked Hollywood
movies, action flicks, coming-of-age flicks, buddy movies, science-fiction,
comedy, etc. do not get thrown into one big barrel under an equivalent moniker,
such as dick-flick.

Popick has little to say about great talents like Judi
Dench or Jodie Foster, except to mention their presence as an afterthought, or
to focus on gossipy, venomous little tidbits unrelated to the work they do in
the film. His studied analysis of Audrey Tatou's acting in AmÈlie went thusly: she was "adorable." Generally, he
seems to prefer to review movies about men's lives, interests, and stories.

This is the same newspaper that regularly devotes
excellent, insightful, respectful articles to ethnic, religious, gay, youth,
elder, disabled, environmental, and animal issues. I thought City was an alternative weekly dedicated
to exposing hypocrisy, greed, ignorance, and brutality. Apparently, the
sexualization and trivialization of women and outright viciousness aimed at us
is of a different nature and merits weekly publication.

Cindy Gilchrist,
Hemlock