Death threats mar columnist Pitts' visit to Washington

[flowomo]

editorial in News Tribune
http://www.thenewstribune.com/opinion/story/333297.html

Shameful death threats mar Pitts’ visit here
THE NEWS TRIBUNE
Published: April 12th, 2008 01:00 AM

The audience gasped in dismay when it learned why there was so much security Thursday night when syndicated columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. spoke at the University of Puget Sound’s Kilworth Chapel.

Pitts himself revealed the reason for the extra protection by campus security and off-duty Tacoma police officers hired by UPS: Both he and UPS had received e-mails threatening his life. Pitts’ speech came off without incident, but many in the audience were stunned that such a thing could happen here. The Northwest, after all, prides itself on its racial tolerance. Tacoma has an Ethnic Fest, celebrating the rich diversity of the community.

The threats could have come from anywhere in the country, but their appearance here was still unsettling. The idea that someone would threaten to kill anyone for speaking his mind – much less a Pulitzer Prize-winning black journalist – is sickening and disheartening. The threats were meant to create fear....

In his speech Thursday, Pitts touched on the fact that many Americans fear for the life of Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama. Yes, Obama has also received threats, and the Secret Service began protection detail for him earlier than for the other candidates (excluding Hillary Clinton, who as former first lady has continued to have Secret Service protection).

But Pitts said that fear is no reason for Obama not to run or for people not to vote for him. “Living in fear is an oxymoron,” Pitts said.

[Blue_Tires]

1. shameful...Pitts is one of the best

[Winterblues]

2. Thuggery is running rampant in America from the top down..

When we allow Thugs to run the country Thugs will run the country

[ensho]

3. that's the neo con way: bully, bribe, blackmail, threaten, murder

works for them much of the time.

[callous taoboy]

4. The northwest is the bastion of racial tolerance??? Gimme a break.

There are certain pockets of hippydom up there (I lived in Eugene, Or. for 3 years) but the Aryan Nation was headquartered in Idaho and I saw a motherfucker of a melee between skinheads in downtown Portland. There are pockets of extreme racial hatred in all corners of our nation, unfortunately.

[Quantess]

6. Thanks for interjecting your wisdom about the Pacific NW

Washington is similar to Oregon. There is no more (and no less) racial tolerance here than other places in the US. Idaho is different---there is no comparison.

[jbnow]

5. This weekend Pat Buchanan author of the recent

A Brief For Whitey was on MSNBC screeching his reasons why bitter better knock Obama out of the race lowered his voice to conclude with a warning to Obama that when he goes back to Pennsylvania he'd better stay out of the woods with all the deer rifles there.

Oh he smiled so surely he won't be in trouble for "joking". I just recoiled. I'd been turning off any show he was on since he came back after writing his hate column but he was there talking when I turned on the TV.

I thought of the threats to Wright, the atmosphere of hate people like him encouraged. How ugly things have gotten.