Another Wants to ‘Speak for Myself’

As a Carson resident since 1977, I am incensed that a staff writer, and middleclass persons living in Carson, feel qualified to speak on behalf of all Carson residents. Well, I’m educated and choose to speak for myself, and my class is of no significant value.

The article appeared on the surface to address secession from the Compton Unified School District. However, the underlying intent clearly pointed to ethnicity concentration, socioeconomic factors and political platforming.

Charles Peters, our appointed planning commissioner, clearly lacks vision and intellect when addressing general planning issues, as evidenced by his ego-building remarks. It is frightening to know that such a myopic individual is representing my interests in the planning decision-making progress.

Furthermore, I am embarrassed that Councilwoman Vera Robles DeWitt is representing me as a citizen of Carson, given her lack of tact and political clout. Her efforts to undermine a neighboring community as an instrument to gain a political forum for the next election is appalling.

Carson residents who have verbalized support for her anti-Compton campaign should wake up and smell the coffee, for they are merely a fish in her political pond. If my memory serves me well, I don’t think her portfolio is blemish-free and she is casting stones!

In terms of education, my secondary schooling took place in Compton, which sufficiently prepared me for higher education at UCLA and graduate school, where I completed a master’s program with a 3.86 grade-point average. One educational success story to the credit of the City of Compton.

My children are being academically prepared for their future in a school in the City of Compton as a matter of choice. This choice is based on the quality of the curriculum and teachers, parents and students working together. Are all these anti-Compton parents facilitating the educational needs of their children by working together with the teacher to identify and strengthen educational weaknesses? I doubt it.

I would not have them educated at any of the local schools in Carson, judging from the results of many children I have interacted with in the community. There are clearly no added benefits, and the results demonstrate that the teachers are not a cut above those teachers in Compton or anywhere else. Basic common sense says teachers take a sincere interest in students whose parents demonstrate that the quality of their child’s education is clearly a priority. Carson schools, according to the statistics cited in the article (5.7% differential) are clearly not superior to Compton schools.

I salute you, the City of Compton, for having the integrity to ignore the tasteless comments made by those citizens and elected officials in Carson who, for whatever reason, want to take perceptions based on ignorance and turn them into facts. For you see, Census Bureau statistics are merely computed data collected by unskilled labor, which is later compiled and called statistics--impossible to truly validate but an estimate in a numbers game.

I have traveled the streets of Compton and do so on a regular basis, and I am proud that the politicians and administrators in my neighboring city continue to revitalize the community. It was good enough for me and has been several cuts above for my children.

CYNTHIA COLEMAN

Carson