"... Hispanics and blacks have a significantly lower high school graduation rate than whites; Hispanic and black males have a significantly higher incarceration rate than whites; and a significantly higher percentage of black women have children out of wedlock and are single parents (making it difficult for them to work) ..."
- RICHARD KOBZA
Cape Coral
"If a person would rather hip-hop, flip-flop, or rip-rap rather than study, and ends up with no education or social promotion, then that is the result of his or her decision, not the responsibility of society. In fact, it is obvious that Bigelow has a real social and moral problem himself. Who in the world elected this weirdo anyway."
- RICHARD KOBZA
Cape Coral
"If a person would rather hip-hop, flip-flop, or rip-rap rather than study, and ends up with no education or social promotion, then that is the result of his or her decision, not the responsibility of society. In fact, it is obvious that Bigelow has a real social and moral problem himself. Who in the world elected this weirdo anyway."
- SID NEWTON
Estero
Here's what I have to say regarding Lee County Commissioner Bob Bigelow's study on diversity in county government, and the response thereto:
I simply cannot comprehend why anyone would argue with Lee County's need for more diversity in government. Cape Coral resident Richard Kobza in his May 12 letter argues that representation should be based upon the racial makeup of the qualified labor pool instead of the community as a whole. He asserts that because Hispanic and black males have a higher incarceration rate than their white counterparts, and because more black women have children out of wedlock and are single parents, it means there are fewer qualified applicants. What a bunch of old bullshit! A white-dominated power structure jails an appalling number of black youths and denies them the educational opportunities that the pale-faced sons and daughters of the white elite are handed, and you try to tell me there are more white people with better-looking resumes? Well, of course there are! Look, the idea behind being proactive in getting a representative number of people from traditionally oppressed racial backgrounds into government is so that their voices, heretofore not given a chance to be heard in the halls of leadership in this country, may finally ring in the halls of power. It's not about promoting the same silver-spoonfed white people again and again. It's about separating ourselves from a past marked by a legacy of slavery, Jim Crow, and a dogged fight for equal rights represented by vacant bus seats, firehoses, and slain leaders a scant 40 or so years ago, when so many in this county were alive to see it.
It's also about taking down that disgusting painting of Robert E. Lee from the commission chambers and taking the long overdue step of changing the county's appalling name. The audacity of a keeping a place named after such a divisive figure can be tolerated not a moment longer. Kudos to Brian Bigelow for his tireless research efforts and his willingness to speak out, and may he be possessed with the courage to take these next and necessary steps.
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