Ward on Public Outcry Over Simpson Case

“White America Wants Simpson’s Blood” (by Francis Ward, Commentary, March 6) offends me. It is perpetuating the very attitude that he decries. “The fallout will take years to settle”?

It never even occurred to me to see this as a “black man . . . killed two whites” issue. When the news broke, my reaction was one of amazement that a celebrity was suspected of murdering two people. Shame on those who have tried to convince me that this was about race.

PEGGY ALBRECHT

Westlake Village

It is really very sad that certain blacks have chosen O.J. Simpson as a symbol of their concerns about the justice system. The “race card” was played only by the defense.

Most Americans believe Simpson murdered Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. That he was not found guilty is a tribute to his lawyers and cause for concern regarding the competence of the prosecution. The scientific evidence was compelling, as the civil jury found.

Ward’s assertion that race was paramount in this case is absurd. The argument is poorly supported and will only exacerbate the tensions and stereotypes he deplores. Its presentation as an Op-Ed column is questionable.

DAVID SIEVERS

Hidden Hills

Ward eloquently articulates the position that white Americans “get outraged only when other whites are killed and particularly outraged when the alleged perpetrator is black.”

Just look at the actions of Susan Smith or Charles Stuart, who accused blacks of committing crimes they themselves perpetrated. Where was the outcry from white America when Latasha Harlins’ murderer was given probation? How much is a black life worth today in America?

JEAN-PIERRE DUMAS

Monrovia

As a college student marching for civil rights in the ‘60s, I assumed that prejudice was the province of the uneducated. If only the message of brotherhood could be taught to these people, the battle could be won. My fears to the contrary were confirmed by Ward, a person who, at least in terms of educational degrees, would seem to contradict this notion.

What hope is there if someone who holds an associate professorship refuses to consider the evidence and blanketly assumes that all of “white America” wants to convict Simpson simply because he is black? What is even more frightening is that a person who is so racist is in a position to educate other promising minds.

GAIL SCHER

Encino