March 7, 2004

Dear Sir,

I am writing regarding the recent articles about the resignation of Richmond General District Court Judge Ralph B. Robertson.

The duplicity of those who are calling for his head is astounding. How many times over the years have we heard "black leaders" and those in government lament the need for an "open and frank dialogue" on race relations? Of course this means ONLY IF YOU AGREE WITH ME.

Here is a man who, in an Internet chat room, expresses his views in a forum, which espouses such ‘openness’. If there are those who believe his views have adversely affected his decision making as a judge then they should have had the backbone to step up before now. Surely he has exhibited ‘racist’ tendencies before now.

I fully realize that by pointing out the following I will automatically be labeled a racist myself, facts to the contrary. I found it most ironic that in the same edition that featured a front-page headline about the judge’s "racist talk" there was an article by Ray McAllister taking the judge to task. Right next to Mr. McAllister’s article (front page of the Metro section, was an article titled, "Violence ‘won’t end tomorrow’". This article spoke about the continued ‘urban’ violence in Richmond and what the citizenry could/should do about it. Am I the only one who picked up on that dichotomy?

Is there anyone reading this who is willing to state that blacks are NOT killing blacks in record numbers each year? It ain’t white folks from Powhatan driving into Richmond to shoot some black folks. This may not be pleasant for those in leadership roles in the black community to hear, but the empirical evidence is out there for those who choose to believe it. Empirical evidence also shows that a serial killer in this country is more likely to be a white man (the Beltway Sniper was an anomaly). If a black man were to point this fact out in a chat room would that make him a racist?

Does anyone remember a few short years back when the Reverend Jesse Jackson made a speech in which he spoke of the fear he felt when walking down a street in any American city? He spoke of the angst he felt at the sound of footsteps coming up behind him and how that angst disappeared when he would turn around to see that it was a white person and not a young ‘urban’ thug. He was pointing out to his black audience how pervasive black violence had become in the inner cities. Does this make Mr. Jackson a racist? How is his statement any worse than anything Judge Robertson said? Now, whether or not this "urban violence" is genetic or cultural can be argued by smarter people than me, but the fact that there is so much violence in the black community cannot be disputed. I take no pleasure in pointing this out as this violence affects everyone in some way.

I do not wish to see Americans killing one another over drug-corners or because someone was "dissed". But to ignore the facts and to call for a judges resignation over chat room statements does us all a disservice.

Sincerely,

Floyd C. Bayne