Submitted by George from Miami

Q: G'afternoon Leonard, I n ref to Sundays' column in the MH, you sound surprised?..It is indeed abhorent that someone would use MLK to promote a strip club, but,it was also abhorent for an "artist" to put the crucifex upside down in a jar of urine, or,to put feces on a picture of the Virgin Mary...I think we are rotting from the inside out..

Answered 01/25/12 12:13:22 by Leonard Pitts

A: I'm not surprised, just angry. And though I take your point about those two works of "art," the difference is that I wouldn't call for the strip club guy to be censored as folks did about the two works you reference.

Submitted by bob johansen from edinboro

Q: Your Column In Sat paper was right in line with a book you may have already read,but if not, I would highly recommend Karl Marlantes' book - What it is Like to Go to War. He deals in depth with the conflicting drives in a true warrior. Thanks for your time.

Answered 01/25/12 12:11:20 by Leonard Pitts

A: Thank you.

Submitted by jackabassalope from iowa

Q: in regards to "Practicing the politics of racial resentment", this is the most cogent and step-by-step walkthrough of the charge of racism over newt's statement i've seen. time to break out your crystal ball - is newt going to 'double down' or back off and not touch anything to do with race for awhile?

Answered 01/25/12 12:10:33 by Leonard Pitts

A: Thank you, Jack. And no, I dont't think Gingrich knows the meaning on "back off.". It's a failing common to the messianic.

Submitted by April Cole from Sebastian FL

Q: Dear Mr. Pitts, I have been reading you for years and you remain my favorite columnist. I'm shocked though that you have yet to write anything about the dangerous and terrifying military law that has been passed allowing the government to arrest anyone without evidence or trial. Please, get on that. (: Thanks.

Answered 01/11/12 12:07:37 by Leonard Pitts

A: Actually, I was going to write about it last week, but I can't find the actual language in the bill that allows that to happen. I've seen the press reports, but I would like to see the passage in the law that they are based upon.

Submitted by Nate from Kentucky

Q: Hey Mr. Pitts.You may not remember but a month or two ago, I submitted a question to you in this forum about whether or not you knew much about Ron Paul. I guess after your recent column, I can see that you do. I'm not going to vote for Paul but I don't think that most of his supporters are racist. Some are, for sure, but others, like me, were just desperate for a candidate, any candidate, who isn't a warmonger. After watching the recent GOP candidates practically scream for war with Iran and seeing Pres. Obama intervene in Libya, etc., I just felt like this country is becoming way too comfortable with war and Paul was the only one who seemed to campaign on peace. I'm not a pacifist, but just someone whose tired of war. My question is, do you think war with Iran is inevitable given the current political climate or can it be solved peacefully? I know the Iranians are nuts but can they be pacified?

Answered 01/11/12 12:06:32 by Leonard Pitts

A: 1. I don't know whether Paul is racist or not (those newsletter posts say yes, his stance on the drug war says no), but I do believe he has a rather extremist view of how inert the government should be and shows a certain naivete as well when he suggests African Americans should have found some means other than the Civil Rights Act to free themselves from Jim Crow. 2. I don't consider myself a foreign affairs expert by any means, but Iran does seem to be spoiling for a fight and I don't think the current standoff can be maintained indefinitely.

Submitted by Aasiyah Sullivan from Tuscaloosa,Alabaama

Q: My name is Aasiyah Sullivan and I work with the Northridge Reporter at Northridge High School. I am currently writing a column on sexual abuse and I wanted to know in your opinion what type of things could I write it on ?

Answered 01/11/12 12:01:46 by Leonard Pitts

A: Email me a contact number, Aasiyah. Send it to: lpitts@miamiherald.com.

Submitted by katheryn ranta from Monroe, NJ

Q: This is really a question of little consequence...but I've wondered if in your background you once did an impersonation of a "red neck" on a weekly radio show?

Answered 01/11/12 12:01:04 by Leonard Pitts

A: No, I don't think that was me.

Submitted by Deidra from Baton Rouge, LA

Q: I love your piece on America's obsession with missing white women in the media. I am the founder of Black and Missing but Not Forgotten, an organization that aims to raise awareness of the racial disparities in mainstream media’s reporting of the missing and seek equal coverage of missing African Americans. I have to ask though, what will you do to help combat this problem? And how can we get other journalists/reporters to follow suit?

Answered 01/04/12 11:58:47 by Leonard Pitts

A: Well, I wrote a column to help combat the problem. If you have other suggestions, I'm happy to listen. As for getting other journalists to follow suit, I'm not sure what to tell you. Perhaps issuing a report or staging an event (journalists love reports and events) might help.

Submitted by jackabassalope from iowa

Q: "Making a rude comment doesn't qualify as bullying. Indeed, that word implies a vulnerability on the part of the victim and power on the part of the perpetrator that simply do not exist here." to my mind, bullying is not dependent on the power of the victim so much as the intent of the perp. nor is it just about the rudeness of her tone or crudeness of her words - look at the tweet again. there's that same casual disregard for another person that is inherent in all bullying. seriously, if you replaced the word 'brownback' with 'jenny from home room' or 'that dork jimmy' you wouldn't be able to distinguish this tweet from the internet harassment that plagues kids. she wasn't making a point - she was being mean for meanness' sake,her own gratification, and that of her friends... in what world is that not the very definition of a bully? emma might not have had an effect on brownback, but that doesn't mean she didn't try.

Answered 12/07/11 12:11:18 by Leonard Pitts

A: We'll have to agree to disagree there. I've said rude things in the column about the last three presidents, but I don't think that would constitute bullying them.

Submitted by Adam Scott Wechsler from Miami, FL

Q: Do you have any particular opinion on Byron Thomas, the black University of S.C.-Beaufort student who defended displaying the Confederate flag in his dorm window? He said that he saw it as a symbol of Southern pride instead of as a symbol of racism. I'm wondering if one hundred years from now, there will be a German Jewish teenager who displays a Nazi flag, saying that it doesn't represent genocide, but German pride, and that it's just an unfortunate fact that genocide was perpetrated under the Nazi flag.

Answered 12/07/11 12:08:12 by Leonard Pitts

A: I have purposely avoided learning too much about that story, to tell you the truth, Adam. As I don't have another column between now and the New Year, I would have no outlet for talking about him, so I would be raising my blood pressure for no practical reason. My gut feeling is that he is an idiot kid - hardly a unique condition - but that there isn't much social or political significance beyond that.