Florida shooting was about race

Re: Turning A Tragedy Into A Race Parable, Rex Murphy, March 31. I have nothing but the highest esteem for Rex Murphy — that is perhaps why I am so disappointed in his take on the Trayvon Martin debacle down in Florida. I expected to read from Mr. Murphy that the shooting of an unarmed 17-year-old was a tragedy of both action and legislation; the legislation being an asinine law that allows armed people to “stand their ground” against unarmed possibly ill-intentioned people.

I also believe his criticism of President Barack Obama to be wrong headed. This is a very human tragedy and the President speaking out days after the incident in the way that he did spoke to his humanity. I am not black but I am the father of a 17-yearold boy, so I can somewhat relate to the family. I wonder how I would cope if some wanna-be-hero shot my son in such circumstances.

Mr. Murphy is correct that the usual suspects like Jesse Jackson and

Al Sharpton are out to condemn this incident as another attack on black America, but anyone who believes that America hasn’t had a problem with racism from its inception to present day is in need of an education.

Aaron Martyn, Stayner, Ont.

The debate about profiling criminal behaviour and the wearing of hoodies has missed a simple observation. While not all people who wear hoodies are criminals, most people that are about to commit crime put on hoodies. Why? Because it is the best countermeasure next to a balaclava to being identified on surveillance cameras. In fact, when our central station operators are guarding a car lot with active surveillance we use this profile to determine suspicious behaviour and tell the “visitor” to leave the premises. Robert Baxter, president, Radius Security, Richmond, B.C.