I'm shocked that Gary Gerard is "stunned" by the photo he refers to in his News Views column on Saturday, Oct. 25 (a mock hanging of a political candidate). Did you not know that racism is alive and well in Indiana, in Warsaw? There's certainly evidence. News of the photo is certainly disturbing; but I don't find it surprising.
Especially given that the Times-Union has given space to a lowering of public discourse with regard to the issues our nation faces: It was only a couple of weeks ago that a person who has created bumper stickers and signs that are nothing more than ad hominen attacks on one of the presidential candidates was featured in the local news section. We face an important election, and the discourse between the candidates and among us is far too low; we're awash in negative ads from the candidates and their parties. I applaud the Times-Union for not running the photo; but I deplore that it chose to feature a purely negative campaign in its pages earlier.
