WHEN A COMMUNITY ACCEPTS ITS PROBLEMS, SOLUTIONS ARISE

I find Anne Moore's statement that "Mexican teenagers are making heroin
easier to buy" not only offensive, but grossly incorrect.

What's even more ironic is she continues to say that she knows of six
heroin dealers in Shoreline, a predominantly white suburb.

As long as the white, middle class continues to blame "Mexicans" or any
other ethnic minority for their drug problems, they will continue to miss
the solution.

Moore is right: Drugs are prevalent in Shoreline; they were 10 years ago
when I was in high school. However, none of the kids known to be "dealers"
were of Hispanic descent. Rather, many of them were wealthy kids from the
affluent Richmond Beach area.

We must stop placing the blame for our community's problems on others. Only
when a community can own up to its problem, can they successfully identify
solutions.

Maureen Acosta, Shoreline