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Letters to the Editor: Don't let the children die I joined the Marines when I was 17. Part of my boot camp training involved learning to hate the Japanese. That was to make killing them easier, more natural and, since I had no religious scruples, I was eager to get on with it. But the bombs intervened. All those innocent women and children were destroyed. We felt we had to do it; after all, they attacked us. Today, my heart breaks when I think about the deaths of millions of innocents. Now, a Christian perspective tells me we should make heroic efforts to avoid the killing or maiming of even one child. The God I worship loves sweet little Iraqi children as much as sweet little American children. Can we allow them to be killed because of the ambitions of our leaders? We did that in Vietnam though many of us protested. Our politicians led us into a tragedy in which many innocents were murdered. As citizens of a powerful democracy, can't we today insist that George W. Bush make heroic efforts to avoid the killing this invasion will surely cause? What would (Jesus, Allah, Vishnu, God, etc.) do? Gerald G. Garland Ashland *** Disturbed with lack of coverage Why was the presence of Jackson and Douglas county Sheriff's Department riot squads missing from all the local media coverage of Wednesday's (March 5) student strike? Police over-response is becoming standard for non-violent protest. Yet this is rarely, if ever, reported in the mainstream media. Instead, there is ample column space devoted to misinformation about "violent protesters" and "anarchists" out to disrupt otherwise non-violent demonstrations. The truth is that police intimidation and harassment leads to violence in the streets. Case in point, the altercation in downtown Ashland on Wednesday that left two protesters bruised and battered by APD for nothing other than marching in the streets. Another case in point, the deployment of Sheriff's Department riot squads, complete with masks, batons, rubber bullets, shotguns, tear gas, and dogs, to "control" high school and college students chanting 'Wage Peace!' at the National Guard Armory. And yet another case in point, the snatch arrest of one protester grabbed out of a group of people because he was wearing a black mask. The APD deserves some inquiry into this and other recent incidents of harassment and intimidation. And the local media deserves some flack for failing to cover this part of the story. The Mail Tribune, The Daily Tidings, Channel 10 and 12 all covered the Student Strike in Ashland (March 5). All conveniently avoided the story of police over-response and intimidation. Only the Rogue Independent Media Center was up to the task of reporting the whole story. Check www.rogueimc.org Stuart O'Neill Ashland LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -