Lee - yes, I would like to see your response to Rooney; I think your
already here are excellent. Below is a note I was composing just before
your note arrived.
I received (from the Director of H.O.N.O.R. -- Honor Our Neighbors
Origins and Rights) a copy of Andy Rooney's infamous column a
couple days before the beginning of all this recent "discussion"
on it. Along with the column there was the indication that a
petition was circulating to wit:
We, the undersigned hereby request that Mr. Andy Rooney be
removed as a featured writer and/or commentator for your
corporation. While we respectfully recognize every person's
right to free speech, we also recognize that words are powerful
tools that can diminish and hurt. The Rooney article carried in
the Chicago Tribune (and elsewhere) is an inaccurate, blatant
stereotyping of Native American people. We object to further
promotion of these racist opinions through powerful media.
In any event, my thought is that perhaps such a move would be
more useful than continuing recriminations back and forth on this
net.