Minority forced school board to make a...

Minority forced school board to make a major error

Do you really think teenagers don’t know about sex and drugs?

Big deal about the flier for the Distinguished Speakers Lecture

Series. This only made me want to go even more, but unfortunately

when I called today, they were sold out.

“It’s a conservative community,” says former school board member

Wendy Leece.

Well, there are some of us out here who go the other way and want

to be able to make our own choices, including high school students

who will be going off to college without their parents running

interference for them. No wonder when they are let loose in college

they go crazy.

They are probably making decisions for themselves for the very

first time. Aren’t there bigger issues with the educational system

that need greater attention than the distribution of a flier to a

lecture that might venture into a “forbidden” topic during the

question time? And if the parents see the flier, they can tell their

children they can’t go.

Bottom line: The district made the wrong decision probably due to

pressure by the minority.

RHODA FRIEDMAN

Newport Beach

Police superiority isn’t helpful to Newport Beach

As a 29-year resident of Newport Beach, I was not all that

surprised when I read the article “No ordinary job interview,” in

Sunday’s Daily Pilot. I was not a Marine, but I am all for esprit de

corps as they practice it.

But I question how relevant the Newport Beach Police Department’s

hiring practices and selection policies are to the real needs of our

city in the 21st century.

We had 5,002 criminal offenses last year, which works out to 13.7

per day, hardly like South Los Angeles. And very few of those crimes

require an officer to scale a six-foot wall in pursuit of a

malefactor. Pity the poor guy who was actually trained to investigate

homicides. He sure isn’t busy and can’t feel all that that special.

My own experience is echoed by many I know in this community. Many

citizens are, frankly, not at all eager to interact with the Police

Department, ever. They feel that most officers are a lot more

concerned about people knowing “we are in authority here” than

creating an aura of cooperation, with the 99% of people who are in

the law-abiding segment of the community.

A carload of people with darker complexions driving through our

city will almost surely get pulled over if they have a broken

taillight. During the ensuing “interview,” I think they will get the

message: “Your kind aren’t welcome here.”

Those situations give the officers a chance to practice

demonstrating their power over others, but is that what we need? The

days of kindly old Officer Murphy befriending kids near school are

long gone, and that’s sad.

Flunking 99% of the applicants does little more to than create an

aura of self-importance among the officers. I can’t believe that

there aren’t some terrific candidates among those who are flushed.

And why don’t they take off their guns when they interview

applicants?

Bottom line, I believe that our residents would be better served

if we were to adopt standards that are more relevant to the needs of

our community. If we had more women serving it might begin to reduce

the testosterone level in the department, a welcome change.

Finally, I’m almost afraid to sign this letter for fear of what

might happen to me when the department reads it. Isn’t that sad for a

law-abiding citizen to feel that way about his own Police Department?

But that’s exactly what I mean.

RANDY JOHNSON

Corona del Mar