ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, March 15, 1997 TAG: 9703170008
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: LETTERS
Blood-pinning practice is sadistic
I AM A retired colonel of the Marines with more than 43 years active duty. Sixteen of those years were enlisted, and I was commissioned a lieutenant from the rank of 1st Sergeant. I relate this to support my views.
Peter Kilner's March 11 commentary (``Blood-pinning helps the military do its job'') strikes me as contradictory.
He writes that blood-pinning promotes unit cohesion, that the act is voluntary, and that half of his soldiers accept it and half do not. Is that not dividing the unit into ``them and us''? Where and when does the personal bonding start within his unit?
Pain and bleeding seem to be all right as long as there is no serious injury. That idea was never acceptable to me or any leader (at any level) with whom I served in the past, and it's unacceptable in my work of building leaders today.
Yes, while enlisted, I pinned promotees' stripes with a punch on their shoulder chevrons. But blood and pain weren't part of the brief ceremony. Jump school at Ft. Benning in 1960, followed over the years with three tours in Force Reconnaissance companies, never exposed me to the sadistic ritual of forcing a metal pin into someone's flesh.
The pinning of Marine jump wings started in some units in the late 1970s. But pushing or pounding wings into someone's chest never happened in my unit or to my Marines. Individual and unit bonding comes with shared experiences that extend the individual and the unit beyond normal limits.
WESLEY L. FOX
BLACKSBURG
Apple has all the new ideas
I WAS AMAZED to read (Feb. 18 news article, "School boards worry Apple will lose flavor'') that some school systems were considering jumping ship and switching from Macs to Windows 95.
Apple is a billion-dollar company and a leader in the educational market (school systems and college campuses), and its computers are in great demand. Apple's operating system was used to model Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 (a license agreement between Apple and Microsoft).
It's true Apple is under a restructuring plan to become more profitable. But IBM, General Motors and other companies have gone through the same thing - a trend of the '80s and '90s. Also, Mac software is on the increase, and with the introduction of the Power PC, many new avenues are growing.
I know many school systems are concerned about Apple's future, but I'd like to make a recommendation. In the November 1996 issue of Macworld, Galen Gruman describes a new working prototype Common Hardware Reference Platform system that runs both Macintosh OS and Windows NT. Apple, IBM and Motorola are working together on the development and should have these new computers on the market by September. Wow! A computer that runs both operating systems! You'll be able to have the best of both worlds.
As a daily Mac user, I believe Apple has a bright future. And if I were a Windows user, I'd pray that Apple stays in business because where else will Bill Gates look for new ideas for his operating system?
JIM PARKER
ROANOKE
Bland is a victim of political correctness
DWAYNE Yancey's Feb. 18 Extra section article (``A victim of history") did a serious injustice to James M. Bland by characterizing Bland's lyrics as racist. ``Carry Me Back to Old Virginia'' is a love song about one person's feelings for the old plantation. People who think the song glorifies slavery are the ones who have the problem. Slavery cannot be glorified.
Members of the black community shot themselves in the foot by allowing their so-called leaders to besmirch Bland's name, and the white politicians who went along with this are guilty of the worst kind of patronage. Bland's life is a wonderful story of dedication and genius, and he is truly an American treasure. He isn't a victim of history, as Yancey says, but is a victim of the current doctrine of political correctness - a doctrine that is one step away from book burning.
Future historians will look upon Bland as a hero, and the rejection of his song will forever be a blot on Virginia's name.
RICHARD C. BRYANT
ROANOKE
LENGTH: Medium: 81 linesby CNB