Message to son was a negative one

I've rarely read a more emotionally overwrought piece than that by Kingsley Botchway ('The time for change is now,” Aug. 16).

More disturbing is the negative message he's giving his son by having 'the conversation” with him.

Why would Botchway tell his son that because he is black he will have no voice in this world when Botchway is a member of the Iowa City Council? Why would he tell him he is more likely to end up in jail than in college?

Botchway, so quick to denounce racial generalizations by others, engages in it himself.

While it's true black Americans, nearly 13 percent of our population, make up a grossly disproportionate percentage of our prison population, it's also true that about 50 percent of our nation's murderers are black. The victims of these black murderers are overwhelmingly black, which explains why about 50 percent of the nation's murder victims are black.

If Botchway insists on generalizing, is he going to warn his son to avoid fellow blacks?

Botchway should say to his son something similar to what Daniel Inouye's father said to him when Daniel, a Nisei, was shipping out for World War II: 'America has been good to us. It has given me two jobs. It has given you an education. Whatever you do, do not dishonor your country or family. If you must give your life, do so with honor.” It wasn't bad advice, as Daniel went on to win the Medal of Honor and become the second-longest serving U.S. Senator in history.

Kurt Maas

Coggon