MASS MEDIA HELP STATE RUN ROUGHSHOD OVER RIGHTS

Letters to the Editor -

Regarding Man gets one year for pot possession, July 3, this is hate
propaganda, pure and simple, intended to make us fear and/or despise those
innocent souls who use one of the supposedly harmful recreational drugs the
state has decided to prohibit while leaving alone the users of other harmful
recreational drugs.

As usual, those of us who oppose these ridiculous laws are not permitted to
be heard.

If the purpose of our drug laws were to protect us from harmful drugs,
wouldn't we have prohibited alcohol and tobacco, too?

No, let's face facts here, the government implemented these laws for one
reason and one reason only: to harness the power of hate and entertain the
majority by persecuting an innocent minority.

Was there ever a greater gift to the modern nation state to help it ride
roughshod over the rights of its citizens than the mass media?

I don't think so. Abraham Lincoln was mistaken.

You don't have to fool all the people all the time in order to have unjust
laws.

All that is required is for the majority to be fooled all the time, and
sadly, that task is child's play once you have the media behind you.

It's time that newspapers such as The Sault Star begin to serve the public
instead of our gutless politicians and venal drug cops.

Alan Randell,

Victoria, B.C.