Tom Horne's Hypocrisy

I have to say I'm troubled by Tom Horne's op-ed (Racist views are poor use of school funding, azcentral.com, Feb. 3, 2007) for a number of reasons. First, it's embarrassing that the Superintendent of Public Instruction seems to be able to write only single-sentence paragraphs. Not a very good example for the kids, Tom.

Second, in the same article where he states "...I have promoted prejudice reduction programs, such as "World of Differences," that teach kids to treat each other as individuals, not as a stereotypes of their ethnic groups," he effectively encourages people to accept his classification of anyone who is Chicano as not recognizing the "legitimacy of the United States." Maybe it’s me, but doesn’t that statement contribute to the very prejudice he earlier said he was fighting against? Maybe Mr. Horne is unfamiliar with the word “hypocrisy.”

It's unfortunate that Republicans like Mr. Horne find it necessary to demonize people and groups based on posts on web sites, innuendo and hearsay. Maybe if he spoke to the people wearing the t-shirts and not just the critics he might learn something that could help him address the very prejudices he supposedly opposes. Unfortunately, his op-ed does nothing other than fan the flames.