About Dunwoody reporter. (Sandy Springs, GA) 20??-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 8, 2013)
COMMENTARY To the editor: I wanted to express my disappoint ment in your running the screed written by Price R. Potter concerning gun con trol. Rather than his responding ratio nally to an earlier commentary by Dan Whisenhunt, it was purely an ad homi- nem attack on Mr. Whisenhunt. Un fortunately, this sort of response is all too common within the gun control de bate. Admittedly, I am biased in favor of more control of the type of guns that people can buy and our deplorably in adequate means of stopping those who should not have guns from accessing them. This bias comes from my pro fessional experience. I provide consul tation to major (Fortune 100) compa nies when they have a concern about an employee — or ex-employee — becom ing violent. And unfortunately, I have attended funerals of people who were killed following what otherwise would have been an insignificant quarrel. I would hope that other commen taries you choose to print are more rea soned, measured and thoughtful. Carol H. Beavers To the editor: I was somewhat taken aback by the commentary “Cars cause more harm than firearms do” in your Jan. 25-Feb. 7 Letters to the Editor section. This com mentary was in response to an earlier ar ticle written by Dan Whisenhunt. I had to review the article that Mr. Whisenhunt wrote, in order to try and determine what iset off his detractor. There was nothing particularly pro vocative in the article by Mr. Whisen hunt; in fact his closing comment was, “If we don’t begin having a construc tive discussion about this, that day may come sooner than any of us would like.” In response to the call for “construc tive criticism,” the commentator last week attacked Mr. Whisenhunt on a personal level. “Squeamish progressives and weak-willed liberals,” “his pretty lit tle head,” “hysteria, hand-wringing and bed wetting” were some of the unfor tunate comments directed toward Mr. Whisenhunt. This is a prime example of what is wrong in 2013 America. Instead of hav ing a dialogue with a healthy give and take of ideas and solutions, we have in stead sunk to the lowest common de nominator. We excoriate our politicians for being implacable and taking absolute stances instead of reaching a consensus, but the reality is that our representatives truly reflect what we as a society have become. If someone states an opinion contrary to our own, they must be im beciles and subjected to incivility. I do not blame the author, he is clearly an intelligent man with a pas sion for his position. I have nothing but disdain for your newspaper for printing an attack piece rather than a thoughtful commentary. Was that commentary the best one submitted to your newspaper? I suspect it was chosen to stir the pot and create more controversy. You are part of the problem and contribute to the “reality show” hos tile mentality that is slowly choking us all and leading to the dumbing down of America. Shame on you. Chris Arapoglou To the editor: Mr Potter’s call for logic rather than emotion is neither logical nor unemo tional. Quite the contrary. What could be more illogical than comparing cars to guns? Do we have other uses for cars than killing things? But the greatest contradiction is the totally emotional, irrational argument that we need guns to protect us from government. Talk about fearful bed wet ting devoid of reason! If this were the case, Mr. Potter needs RPGs, tanks, drones and F-l6s, not to mention 50-100,000 like-minded com rades. Dispensing with all of the fear mongering and name-calling, there are only a few facts (facts meaning items that are actually true, supported by ev idence rather than ideas that have been repeated so many times that many peo ple think they are true) related to this subject. Countries with the closest cultural, language and religious ties to the U.S. include Canada, Australia and the UK. Their gun death rates compared to the U.S. are 1/5, 1/10 and 1/40 respective ly. Why? Go look at their guns laws and nobody would ever call any of these people bed wetters. Isn’t it interesting that those scream ing the loudest about freedom and liber ties are the first to promote government control of women’s bodies, corporate subsidies and bogus obstacles to voting. If the gun dispute were a formal, in terscholastic debate with rules requiring evidence, logic and unemotional dis course, the gun lobby would lose that debate hands down. R. Bays Do you have some th ing to say? Send your letters to editor@reporternewspapers.net mm m <r urrett, p.c Gynecology imei Comprehensive Women's Health State of the art Pelvic 8} Bladder Surgeries Single Incision Laparoscopic Surgery (SL1S) Minimally Invasive Hysterectomy daVinci Robotic Surgery ^rvices offered Saliva Testing »Nutrient Deficiency Screening &, Counseling Office Procedures including Ablation &, Essure »Incontinence Testing &, Treatment » Abnormal Bleeding Treatment » Hormone Pellet Insertions » Contraception 8s, Sterilization Procedures » Annual Exams » Mammogram Screenings » Ovarian Cancer Screenings » Bone Density Testing » Plus Aesthetic Services Dr. Lynley S. Durrett grew up in Atlanta, GA. She received her B.A. degree from Fur man University in Greenville, SC and her M.D. from Mercer University in Macon, GA. Introducing Obiamaka Mora, M.D. Obiamaka Mora, M.D. grew up in Columbus, Ohio. She received her B.S. degree from Kent State University in Kent, Ohio and her medical degree from Northeastern Ohio Medical University in Rootstown, Ohio. Our practice’s professional expertise includes minimally invasive and robotic surgery techniques with interests in female pelvic medicine, pelvic reconstructive surgery, symptomatic fibroid management, endometriosis, and hormone replacement management. We are located on the Piedmont Hospital Campus 105 Collier Rd NW, Suite 1080 Atlanta, GA 30309 404-352-2850 www.mcdanielanddurrett.com www.ReporterNewspapers.netl FEB.8 —FEB.21,2013 | 9
