Readers respond to column on hate crime in Jacksonville. Some agreed, others didn’t. One spewed a hateful word | Opinion
On Sept. 3, my column reflected my feelings about the recent hate crime — the shooting of three Blacks in a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida, and the hate that is permeating America.
Just as I suspected, I received several emails and texts from readers who voiced their opinions about the hate that seems to be destroying our country. Here are a few:
Bea,
Thank you for another moving and relevant article! Thank you for sharing your personal experiences! My heart aches for all of us to come together!
I so agree — why can’t we come up with a solution on assault weapons?
– Mary Tweedy
Happy Sunday to you dear Bea.
You wrote a marvelous column based on the current news, and also about your own experiences from working as a maid… you’ve come a long way!
Hate is everywhere… against Blacks, Latinos, Asians, Gays, you name it. And yes, assault rifles should be banned. Look at all the shootings daily, at children in schools, places of worship, movie theaters, nightclubs, etc.
Most children are born innocent, kind, and loving. But how they are taught at home makes the difference.
Also, many people with mental problems are allowed to buy guns!
– Miriam Armenguer
Good morning, Bea.
Thank you for another timely and thoughtful article. Today’s article on the hate fueled JAX tragedy captures and communicates clearly what many are thinking.
I also loved your elegant, eloquent remembrance of the late Judge Leo Adderly. It was a beautiful celebration of his legacy in words. More thanks.
Best Regards, Marilyn
Then there were these two letters:
Bea,
Before writing an opinion article, these [please] get facts right and do not LIE in your headlines.
The AR-!5 style rifle used in this headline was not an automatic weapon as you mentioned. His is a flat and should be redacted and apology.
‘Assault rifle’ is a made-up media/political term. The word is roughly used in the military to describe full auto rifles. Which is almost impossible for civilians to get legally.
‘Weapons of mass destruction?’ Really? Do you know that NO military in the world uses the AR-15’s 5.56 cartridge? Too small to kill humans is what the US military said.
Do you know that many handguns come with 25-30 round magazines? Same as the AR-15 and they make 5-20 rounds mags for the rifle as well.
Please, when talking about a tragedy like this, get the facts right. How about WHY someone who got Baker acted was able to purchase this legally? That is the real story!!!”
— Giovanni Masi, Private Firearms Instructor, NRA Pistol Instructor, NRA Chief Range Officer
First of all, the White guy had a semi-automatic rifle. Automatic weapons are extremely regulated and hard to get. Do some research before complaining. Stupid n----r.”
—Sincerely, Chad
What amazes me about the last two letters is that there seemed to be more interest in my getting right the names of the weapons used in the shootings, than on the lives that were lost, including the shooter’s.
To Mr. Masi,
While I admire your knowledge of guns and rifles and their proper names, there is no way you can gun-shame me. I just wish you were as concerned about the hate that is permeating our country as you are about my giving your precious weapons the proper names.
I don’t pretend to be an expert on weapons. Never said I was. It’s not my calling. And I really see no need to apologize for not calling a weapon used to kill innocent people by its proper name. That is not important to me.
But given that news media around the country have been describing some of the weapons used in mass killings as AR-15-styled rifles, I wondered why you singled me out as the weapon-ignorant person that I admit to being?
I do not care about the proper names of these weapons. I care that after too many mass killings to mention here, such weapons are still being used to murder the innocent, including little children. I care that it seems that buying such weapons is as easy as buying a slice of pizza. This is just plain wrong.
And to you, Mr. Chad: Thank you for your comments, smart white man. God bless you.
The two letters from my rifle-loving readers did not surprise me. I knew that the minute my column was published online, I would be called out for being gun-ignorant and, also for being Black.
The fact that Mr. Chad called me a “stupid n----r” doesn’t surprise me at all. In 85 years, I have been called the “N’ word more times than I can count. Calling me names has never described who I am.
Anyway, I think I have become immune to being called the “N” word. Whenever someone calls me that, it’s just like water rolling off a duck’s back. I don’t even feel your hate, Mr. Chad. Thank the Lord!
Yet, I feel for the person spewing out this hate on others who are different from him/her. And I can’t help but wonder if there wasn’t a kind Black woman in your childhood, Mr. Chad, who loved you and bathed and diapered you. And potty-trained you.
If so, I wonder how you learned to hate Blacks to the point of calling this 85-year-old Black woman a “stupid n----r”?
Hmm, I wonder.
Where is your respect, boy?
Bea Hines can be reached at bea.hines@gmail.com
This story was originally published September 8, 2023 at 9:00 AM.