E-Mailbox Issue 12

Unfortunately, your rhetoric is unmatched by empirical data to support your claims. For example, give me some statistical demographics of the voting patterns in the Fourth District and show how it impacted the outcome of the election.

Jones has just made it almost certain that his letter won’t be published, not because he disagrees with us, but because he does not address the issues discussed.

The commentary, “Cynthia McKinney’s Honorable Defeat,” was concerned with the general behavior of the district’s Black and white vote, and the scope and source of challenger Denise Majette’s African American support. Majette won one mostly Black precinct, and our research indicates she could not have picked up more than 30% of the total Black vote. This, and the widely accepted figure of around 90% white support for Majette, is all the data necessary to make our point: that Majette was not backed by a majority of even the Black “middle class,” and her victory is essentially a white electoral triumph. Complex questions flow from these conclusions, but the factual basis is simple.

The data provided is not enough for R. Jones, who wants to talk about something else. He clearly revels in the rightwing victory, cackling on about how “the voters emphatically expressed themselves and we’ll just have to learn to live with the results,” before snidely wishing McKinney well.

Jones is not a person you want to spend time with, if you are the kind of reader we think you are. We have made you aware of Mr. Jones’ existence, only as a means of explaining why you won’t see his type of letter in our e-Mailbox. (This is a one-time exercise.)

John Cook represents a slightly different problem. Responding to a Guest Commentary by Dr. A. Chika Onyeani, Cook begins his letter as if with compassion for the people of Africa: