Open harassment of JROTC students

Re “Junior ROTC takes a hit in L.A.,” Feb. 19

When I went to public school in Los Angeles, we were taught the principles of respect, responsibility and patriotism by our teachers. If I were a teacher at Roosevelt High School, I would be more concerned about how the school has failed the students and the community than about the positive attributes a student might gain by being part of the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps as opposed to being a member of a local gang.

Maybe its time to enlist the Roosevelt teachers in the ROTC to help them get their heads on straight, if it isn’t too late.

GARY RUBENSTEIN

Los Angeles

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How sad that Roosevelt permits open harassment of students who choose to join the JROTC. As a former Marine and one who works with youth who are exploring the possibility of a military career, the JROTC program primarily teaches leadership, whether in the military or in civilian life, and it will certainly assist its cadets to make a better choice about joining the military on graduation.

Too bad those who are so anti-military don’t realize that without a strong Army, the U.S. could well be praying to a different god. And if our military becomes so weakened because of their actions, 9/11 will seem like a bit of history to be forgotten. What will the anti-military types protest then?

FLOYD W. DAVIS

Ventura

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Your article points to the sad yet true fact that JROTC programs are nothing more than military recruitment programs that exclusively cater to low-income, primarily minority communities. When has military recruitment been anything but that? Up until this very day, the military is what it has always been -- a vehicle for social mobility in which the poor and unfortunate are given the opportunity to climb the social ladder.

Given that the military is such an institution, perhaps criticism should instead be directed at society in general, which does not provide alternative opportunities to low-income individuals.

ANDY CHEN

Anaheim

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The Roosevelt world history teacher who harassed a JROTC student in class was unethical and has a poor grasp of world history. The Times reports that she often wears a T-shirt declaring “War is not the answer” and hangs a flag of revolutionary Che Guevara in her classroom.

Guevara advocated war as the answer. He fought at Fidel Castro’s side in Cuba and later was killed while trying to foment armed rebellion in Bolivia. That made him a heroic martyr for leftists.

CHARLES DONALDSON

Santa Monica