DRUG RAID WAS MORE ABOUT SYMBOLISM

To the Editor:

"Get them boys in the air, we got drug money to spend" was my first thought
when I read about drug agents seizing pot in East Tennessee. The photo
image of agents rappelling from choppers left me both amused and outraged.

In a year when we have seen state parks closed, state employees humiliated
and tuition at colleges climb beyond reach for many, our priority is to
send machete-wielding men (they're only doing what they're told) on a
symbolic, media event that has little to do with the drug war.

If we have designated money to spend, let's focus on the crack and crank
houses that continue to destroy families and drain medical and law
enforcement resources all across our state. Oh, I forgot, those are
probably not easy to spot from the air.

Jim Bellar

Nashville 37206