What Matters Is the Crime, Not the Race

Re “Race of Compton Suspect Startles Police,” Sept. 26: It never ceases to amaze me how race is deemed so important when a crime is committed. Who cares if Aaron Hammer was black, white or Latino? He is accused of committing a horrible act, and that’s the only thing that should matter. It seems society thinks that blacks and Latinos are the only groups involved in gangs. When a white man is thought to have ties to a gang, it’s such a big shock -- when anyone of any race can become involved in a gang.

To the contrary of what people think, Compton is not a gang-infested city with nothing but poor people. Stories like this perpetuate the myth that all black neighborhoods are poor and crime-infested. I’m willing to bet that half the people feeding into these myths have never stepped foot into Compton and don’t have a clue as to what they’re saying.

Kanika Williams

Compton