Your Viewpoint
Evil exists

By JEFFREY SCOTT Jasper

In the aftermath of the tragedy shooting at Virginia Tech last month, I felt compelled to throw in my two cents in after reading and watching the news media. I listened to the people of the psychology field talk about psychopath people.

What they don't seem to comprehend is that no one is born evil. Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dalmar weren't born evil.

The shooter being ridiculed at Virginia Tech is no excuse for acts of violence that occur at V.T. What doesn't kill you in this life will make you stronger.

I'm a testament to that fact. So often what we fail to realize is that it's not the person, it's not Ted Bundy, it's not the classmates, it's not your ex-wife.

What the young man at Virginia Tech failed to understand is that most people are family and its spirit is what they will have entwined in them.

Don't blame the person - it's what beneath if they aren't a child of God, then they are an easy prey of Satan. Evil exists in this world, true evil and that's a fact.

Let me quote the late great Sigmound Freaud, "No one who like me conjures up the most evil of those half-tamed demons that inhabit the human breast can expect to come through the struggle unscathed."

In closing, let me say this soon this life will come to pass only what done in the name of Christ will last, case and point closed.

If the shoe fits

By JOHN H. MATTHEWS Jasper

Whoever wins the race for Mayor of Jasper, the two city council seats and the two vacancies on Jasper ISD's school board on Saturday, May 12, let it be said that the final tabulated results of the election represented a massive turnout of registered voters at the polls.

It is a damnable, sad commentary that Jasper has had an abysmal history of citizens over 18 who have failed to register to vote in our elections and who fail to exercise that privilege by voting when the opportunity avails itself, as it will on May 12.

People of all races throughout our country's history have died to make sure each generation can exercise this very special privilege. Surely we can honor them by registering to vote and by going to the polls to insure that only the most qualified candidates running for office will be elected to provide the leadership our community must have to sustain itself and prosper.

Go vote!

Racism exists

By TAMMY SALESKY Jasper

Reading the Jasper Newsboy the past three weeks, I have noticed a new interesting topic going on that being racism. In these past three weeks I have seen the viewpoints of wanting racism reduced, racism isn't such a big deal like people try to portray, and racism does exist and it is seen and heard every day. Racism does exist but it would also be reduced if black individuals, like those from Kier's article, didn't bring it up every five seconds.

Going back and reading the article about Lani Silver I noticed that she had said that if we were to talk about racism it would be reduced. There have been two weeks of talking about racism and it seems that just talking will not do the job. Racism is something that people try to claim too much and that is the action that should be reduced!

I have also noticed these past three weeks that the James Byrd dragging incident has been the whole entire basis of these arguments. Here we have Ms. Silver moving to Jasper in nine months and she obviously has a problem with racism in general and automatically assumes that Jasper is racist just because of the this incident back in 1998. This tragedy (racist or not) should not be drawn out in every single situation that would be trying to claim racism.

I understand what Mr. Kier was saying when he said, "Racism does not exist unless the Reverend Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson says so." You can clearly see by the end of his article that he doesn't literally mean that racism doesn't exist period, like Mr. Rawls stated. You can tell that Mr. Kier meant that these two gentlemen, being the black American leaders that they are, would indeed claim many situations being racist.

Prom a success

By CARLA DOVER Jasper

I grew up in Jasper before we were allowed to have proms. Our class was very close and I always regretted we did not experience having a prom.

This year I had the privilege and pleasure to work on the Jasper High Junior-Senior prom. Lots of hard work was tackled by the junior class, their parents, friends and an aunt. Under the watchful eye of the prom chairman, Martha Morian, Dr. John and Lee Kahla's magnificent new events center was transformed into glittering Las Vegas.

But what glitted more than Vegas were the students that attended. You could not have asked for a more well-behaved, polite and beautiful group of young people whose parents should be extremely proud. All had a good time in Vegas and not the first bit of trouble occurred.

Congratulations to Jacob Coleman and Summer Jones who were voted Prom King and Queen.

But most of all, thank you to the juniors and seniors for letting me go to the prom with

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you. It was a blast!

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