THAT OTHER WAR: DRUGS IN OUR CITIES

To the Editor:

Re "Ashes and Tears in Lost Battle of Drug War" (front page, Oct. 18):

Upon learning that more Americans, this time a mother and five children,
have succumbed to the war carried out by drug dealers on our country's
streets, I feel tremendous anger at our leaders.

It is ludicrous to think that poor children growing up in violent and
despairing conditions can ever partake of the opportunities and freedoms
that America purports to offer them. It is also complete denial not to
understand that the destructive tendencies of drug dealers arise out of a
legacy of institutional racism.

Our leaders must wage war against the poverty, hopelessness and isolation
that trap and destroy so many inner-city families. This is a war that I
would support.

Denise Rose, Oak Park, Ill., Oct. 18, 2002