Although I agree with much of your criticism of Donald Trump’s tax policy, your April 30 editorial headline of “Voodoo and You” is unintentionally ethnocentric and unworthy of your newspaper.
Voodoo is a religious tradition practiced in the republic of Haiti and among Haitians in other countries. It has been subject to misleading stereotypes about voodoo dolls and witchcraft. These images are deeply rooted in the misrepresentation of African religions by Western observers and by the central role of voodoo in the slave uprising that became the Haitian revolution, which led to the defeat of Napoleon’s military and his decision to sell the Louisiana territory to the United States. It created the first black republic in the new world, and terrified slave owners everywhere.
So what is Voodoo? Its name refers to the Fon and Ewe (West African) terms for deity. Practitioners of Voodoo draw on the rich and diverse heritage of African religions as well as the Christian tradition. They worship a deity known in Haitian Creole as Bon Di (Bon Dieu, Good God) or Gran Met (Grande Maitre, Great Master). They also believe that a variety of lesser spirits, some of whom are identified with Catholic saints, can help them deal with a variety of problems such as healing disease, the fertility of the land and people. Voodoo dolls are no more central to Voodoo than Satanism is to Christianity. They represent the nightmare/inversion of proper practice of Voodoo.
I have never seen your paper suggest that any politician’s economic policies are associated with a particular religion, be it Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist or Hindu. Why do you single out Voodoo? I am quite sure that Donald Trump has never consulted Voodoo practitioners. And one should not forget that George H.W. Bush, who coined the term “Voodoo economics,” used the image of a man named Willie Horton to incite racial fears in his presidential campagin.
Can’t we have serious discussions of economic policies without slandering a relatively small religious tradition that has shaped the lives of the people of Haiti and immigrants from the island who live in our country?
Robert M. Baum, associate professorDartmouth College Department of Religion
Hanover
The last time Steve Nelson wrote in the Valley News opposing school choice, I observed the unfairness of his position. Wealthy parents can choose where to send their children independent of financial considerations. Private school administrators like Nelson have the power to choose which other students are eligible to receive scholarships. But parents of lesser means are denied similar choices.
Reading Nelson’s most recent attack on choice (“School Choice Is a Dreadful Choice,” April 30), I was struck by the irony that someone arguing so vociferously in favor of our public schools is himself employed by a private one. Nelson’s argument would be more credible if he worked in one of those public schools where inner city parents are struggling.
Then the light dawned. Nelson revealed that his concern is not only good students leaving public schools, but that parents will send them to private ones of insufficient quality. In other words, he will judge private school quality himself rather than let the market do so. Father Steve knows best. We surely do not want those ignorant parents deciding what is right for their children.
If choice is bad, let’s tell parents in Chelsea and Tunbridge that the public good demands they give up their choice; let’s send their children to a consolidated public school not of their choosing. If private schools remove good students from public schools, and if some charter schools are so inferior, let’s simply outlaw them.
By the way, it was pretty low for Nelson to insinuate that the philanthropy of the Walton Family Foundation is insincere, not caring for the poor and minorities, simply because its funds originated in a for-profit company that found a way to deliver affordable products to millions.
Tim Dreisbach
South Royalton
After reading the account of Cornel West’s recent speech at Dartmouth, I’m reminded of the old adage, “full of sound and fury signifying nothing.”
Jeff Lehmann
Lyme Center
Your coverage of the Middle East on Friday, April 28, demonstrated a clear anti-Israel bias in your staff. Below the fold on A5 you printed a Los Angeles Times wire story about Syria blaming Israel for a missile attack. The copy indicates that the missile attack helped the rebels (the side that we, the U.S., are on), and that no lives were lost. But, below the headline, embedded within the middle two columns of the story, was an AP photo of men in a street and the caption that they were mourning after a car bomb in Damascus. The implication? Israel is somehow involved, not only in missile strikes against Assad’s government, but also in blowing up cars in Damascus.
Why did you place the Los Angeles Times story and the AP photo together? Would your news editor like readers to think that Israel has committed some military atrocity resulting in loss of life, when in actuality the Israel Defense Forces is the most moral army in the world and the Jews of Israel are literally fighting for their existence in their ancestral homeland.
Sadly, this is not the first time the Valley News has negatively represented the only Jewish state. You seem to delight in printing photos of protesting Palestinians while ignoring the consequences of ongoing Palestinian terror against Israeli citizens.
I challenge you to print something positive about Israel. There is so much to choose from — Israel is the only democratic state in the Middle East, the only state where women, the LGBTQ community and minorities have equal rights and are treated equally, the only state where religious minority communities have a say in governance, where Christians are not persecuted, but thrive. Its army is the most progressive in the world, supporting transgender soliders and soldiers with Down Syndrome and other disabilities. Report on something positive in national news — that all 100 U.S. Senators recently signed a letter to the U.N. asking for equal treatment of Israel at the U.N. Cover the facts.
Hilary F. Ryder
West Lebanon
On Friday I had the misfortune to, through no one’s fault but my own, take a tumble on my bicycle across from the entrance to the Thompson parking lot in Hanover. Luckily, I suffered nothing a few hours and the attentive care of the staff at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Emergency Department couldn’t fix, so one more foolish old cyclist is on the mend and will live to ride his bicycle again.
I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the handful of passersby who almost immediately came to my aid with ice and towel, a call to 911, and just generally offering care to a stranger. The first responders who came within minutes could not have been more professional, courteous and kind. A hearty public thank you to you all!
Tom Drinane
Norwich