Kaleem Caire's vision
I was almost sickened to read "Change Agent" (12/24/10). Kaleem Caire seems to hold onto the angry (racist?) attitude he had when he left Madison to join the U.S. Navy.
How we continue to blame the school system or government for failing kids of color is beyond me. We feed them two meals, bus them to better schools than supposedly what they were getting.
Caire says few whites in Madison spend time with black people. Yet whenever one sees volunteers on television, it's always white people helping people of color. I don't see blacks helping whites.
Caire mentions his own father was in and out of prison. Caire, himself, skipped school, sold weed, got into fights and was suspended. I wonder how white people are responsible for this. Or can we say, "people should be responsible for their own actions no matter the race," without being labeled racist?
Nathan Weber
Kaleem Caire's vision for Madison Prep has been a topic of discussion for several months now and has attracted a fair amount of opposition (including from the ACLU). Some say it's new school segregation; others say we cannot afford it; others object to it being male only.
All of these criticisms fail to suggest an effective alternative to the current (and deeply flawed) system.
You can't keep working the same tired system and expect different results. Caire is building something that demands accountability from both the school and students. If you disagree with his vision, that's fine. But my question to you is "What's your plan to fix the system?"
Andrew Posselt
Censorship offends
This is in response to "Ad Offended" (Letters, 12/24/10).
In my opinion, the drawn women in the ad that offended Leah McLoughlin are just topless, not naked. I believe there is a distinction between the two concepts.
Instead of attacking Isthmus for running an ad her 5-year-old might see, perhaps McLoughlin should be grateful she is able to raise her child in a country where, for the time being, freedom of the press is still with us.
Perhaps McLoughlin and her family should move to a more oppressive country such as Iran or China where the government is only too happy to step in and let the public see only what it deems appropriate.
I certainly hope Isthmus will continue to exercise its constitutional right to publish whatever it darn well wants to and leave the censorship responsibilities up to the parents, which is how it is and should be.
Timothy Garrett
