Response to Steve Nash's "Gotta go" Column

February 27, 2004

To the Editor:

This letter is in reference to Steve Nash’s column of February 26, entitled “Six-twenty-eight, fight in progress…’Gotta go’”. In his column, Mr. Nash has taken the relatively simple (and much needed) task of praising the work of law enforcement officials and created something both misinformed and offensive.
Mr. Nash’s feeble attempt to inject his column with something resembling wit or humor led him to belittle hate crimes by contemplating whether or not “the perpetrator is smiling and/or has love in his heart”. I would remind Mr. Nash that the family and friends of James Byrd, Jr. (who was dragged to death in Jasper, Texas, because of his race), or of Paul Broussard (who was beaten to death with two-by-fours in Houston, Texas, because of his sexual orientation) most likely do not find his brand of humor appropriate or amusing. I would also venture to say that none of the family, friends, or victims of the 2300 hate crimes that were committed in Texas between 1992 and 1997 are laughing. Hate crimes affect the security and dignity of whole segments of our population. They are certainly not fodder for any type of humor.
In another portion of his column, Mr. Nash states that the “the entire law enforcement community in Brown County” is “professional, courteous, and dedicated”. While I wholeheartedly agree that the vast majority of all law enforcement officials meet this description, I can’t help but wonder if Mr. Nash fails to read his own newspaper. As I recall, the better part of the Bulletin’s front page was used to report criminal misconduct within the Bangs police department a few months ago. The story referred to activities that are notably less than “professional”. Please don’t misunderstand my viewpoint. Our police force does a great service and is grossly under appreciated. My problem is not with the police necessarily, but with a journalist who uses his opinion column to contradict facts that his own paper has recently reported.
I cannot say enough that the spirit of the piece to praise our officers is a fantastic idea. However, the type of it-can’t-happen-here attitude that is implicit in Mr. Nash’s recent column is unacceptable. As a reader of the Brownwood Bulletin, I depend on its reporters and editors to expose the best and the worst in our community. To categorically dismiss corruption and hate in our community (in any community) is analogous to burying one’s head in the sand, and it calls into question the integrity of the paper and its journalists.

Sincerely,
Barry Creek