Justice derailed
Your April 13 article “Victim’s rape kit tested swiftly” should have women all over this county enraged. The Memphis Police Department has for decades failed to protect the most vulnerable segment of society, the women and children.
The fact that the government volunteered to send money for the testing of these kits all the way back to the late 1980s, and that the Memphis mayor and police department did not choose to accept that money and get the job done then, sends a message loud and clear: “You are not important, and we choose to ignore your safety and well-being.”
Apparently, some few were tested, but not even all the minors’ kits; and if you were lucky enough to have yours tested, that was not a guarantee your attacker would be prosecuted. Nor was it a guarantee that the victim would not be harassed and persecuted by the very people charged with protecting her.
I am so angry at the complete and utter lack of concern for the victims of these heinous crimes, and the complete failure on the part of everyone involved, from the mayor to the district attorney general to the prosecutor and detectives. You are all culpable, every single one of you that turned a blind eye, refused to follow through on the job you were charged with accomplishing and paid to do. You are responsible personally for the ongoing crime spree of Anthony Alliano and the others out there like him.
Congratulations. You might just as well have served these perpetrators women and children on a silver platter.
Shelby County Commissioner Terry Roland is right on target by questioning the level of spending and commitment of Shelby County Schools to vocational and technical education at district high schools (April 10 article, “Budget delivery wows county”).
The number of classes and the enrollment in vocational education have seen a steady and precipitous decline. The design of secondary education in America has experienced an unhealthy and covert shift in focus. Students who passionately desire to become plumbers, welders, elec- tricians or vehicle mechanics will receive scant encouragement from within most high schools today.
One of my colleagues, an agricultural teacher, told me that the demand for experienced brick masons was so severe that charges for their services were basically entirely up to them.
The individuals making these unilateral decisions about the school curriculum apparently have no concept of jobs and careers that do not require a college degree. Unfortunately, this naive position indirectly contributes to a distaste for school for many students. Research also indicates that violence, classroom disruptions and open defiance by some students may be related to students being forced to take classes that they cannot master or are not interested in. The educational hierarchy has eliminated numerous courses that could propel students to a meaningful and financially stable career path.
The continued decline of vocational/ technical education will only further de- plete the ranks of the middle class. This will hasten the looming descent of the workforce into an elite group that gets all the goodies; other workers will become increasingly deprived of even a chance to get a piece of the “American dream.”