Letter to the editor or in brief
Dear Editor,
All of the hoopla over the July issue headline, “Nigger in the Whitehouse” unfortunately detracted from the rest of the content in what has to be one of the better, more substantive issues in some time. I don’t want to comment on the controversial headline. Other readers have covered it amply I’m sure. Instead, I’d like to redirect our readers’ attention to one piece in particular from the July issue that does deserve our time and attention—including, I hope further discussion, namely, “Suddenly Poor and Homeless at 70”, by Sandi Bachom.
Now that’s a headline! And it fits the story, which was outstanding in its honesty and its bravery—the kind of article that you’ll see nowhere else but in. How I identify! If it were not for a series of circumstances, all of which were beyond my control, Ms. Bachom’s situation could easily be mine too. Still could be I suppose if the stock market crashes or I’m in any way disabled. And that’s the point. There is no safety net, no security for any but the top few percent—which is another reason why we are all so desperately driven to make money. The consequences of not having it are dire—meanwhile, we are all in danger, or most of us are. We live haunted by the knowledge that our well-being is precarious, our good fortune more a matter of luck than any degree of planning or foresight.
I applaud Ms. Bachom’s candor—I cannot emphasize too much the importance of her having come forward. Once again, I am proud to be a reader and sometime contributor to the WestView News, and I hope that Ms. Bachom’s situation is resolved happily and that she finds a home and some degree of peace. In the meantime, I encourage her to keep speaking out, as this is the stuff that is news—the news of our time.
Janet Stern Capron
