I found Joshua Britt’s article “African American Activists have gone too far” (Sept. 17) to be nothing but stereotypical and ignorant. There are plenty of black people who don’t wish the word “nigger” to be used by anyone let alone their own people. The problem is many white people seem to think that rappers and comedians are the only blacks in America or even that these select few are an accurate representation of the whole. This is understandable though, being that most white folks don’t have any personal relationship whatsoever with a black person. (However, it is interesting to note that the vast majority of rap records are purchased by young whites.) I have a hard time believing that someone such as Colin Powell ever uses that word, but of course you don’t see him with a million dollar recording deal or HBO special.

All black folks aren’t on scholarship. Where’s my scholarship? Don’t I get a scholarship just for being biracial? No. All ethnic groups have scholarship programs, whether they be Italian, Japanese, Polish, or Native American. People who have scholarships earn them. The Klan might even have a scholarship program. The only requirements are an insensitivity to racial issues and the inability to read and understand history. Perhaps Mr. Britt should do some research. . Indeed warring factions would sell off rival tribes to white traders. Does this justify slavery and the immorality that ensued (the breeding and fornication, rape, beatings, murders, and ripping families apart?) I’m sure Mr. Britt would like us to forget about the slaughter of 6 million Jews in ovens and gas chambers as well. After all, none of us personally took part in it, so why should we care?

It does strike me as strange that he doesn’t feel that the evil white supremacist group, the Ku Klux Klan, has gone too far.

Derek Owsley

South Bend, IN

Junior