Poet Edith Sitwell once said “The public will believe anything, so long as it is not founded in fact.” Sadly, when I opened The Herald on Tuesday I realized the truth of that statement. When I began to read the Opinion piece by Mr. Zak Cummins, I was compelled to check his “credible” internet source upon which he based most of his claims. When I first viewed MartinLutherKing.org I was greeted with a banner that read “New Rap Lyrics”. That immediately raised an eyebrow, as most credible, scholarly websites do not offer links to the newest Eminem or 50 Cent lyrics. However, I continued to explore the website, clicking on the link to the rap lyrics. I was greeted with quotes that supposedly motivate African-Americans to rape and murder white people. I found this highly disturbing, as these lyrics are constitutionally protected forms of free speech that do not compell anyone to kill. It is the ignorance and lack of control of the individual and the society that propigates the belief in such lies. You could possibly draw a parallel with the lyrics of Marylin Manson and/or Ozzy Osbourne who were accused of corrupting young minds and who were also exonerated. Aside from the fact that I have never heard a rap song that states blacks should “Kill Whitey”, I find it offensive that this web site would lump all rap stars into a category of people who hate whites.

As I continued to click the links found on this “credible” site, I was amazed to find articles from fromer Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, David Duke and a slanderous article that claimed author Alex Haley plagarized his novel, “Roots”.

I am not angered by Mr. Cummins’ statements, merely his ignorance when choosing a “credible” source upon which to base his views. Perhaps he should take a class on how to ensure his sources on the internet are credible or even to inform the reader that his piece is clearly based upon ultra-conservative ideologies of a website whose contributors are ex members and current sympathizers of the Ku Klux Klan.

Alaina Green

Livermore

Senior