The Virginian-Pilot
                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Saturday, April 22, 1995               TAG: 9504200006
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: A12  EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Letter 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   36 lines

INFLAMMATORY HEADLINE

I am a white male who tries very hard to be sensitive to others' feelings. Some time back I voluntarily took part in sensitivity training that was offered by my employer. I learned to try to view things as others who come from different backgrounds may view them. I am especially aware of the experiences of my African-American friends.

In my business a large number of my customers are senior citizens who remember in vivid detail the oppression they lived under prior to the civil-rights movement and the progress made since then.

I bring all this up because I constantly find myself reading headlines with the eyes of these dear friends of mine. Sometimes I'm able to feel just a little of the pain they've experienced. That's why the headline ``Court upholds white men's victory'' (news, April 18) broke my heart. This seemed inflammatory, since it gave the feeling that the court was guilty of discrimination by its position on this case, when in reality the opposite was true.

The Supreme Court, by allowing the lower court's ruling to stand, was actually coming down against discrimination in any form.

Perhaps a better wording would have been ``Court upholds ruling in Atlanta firefighters case'' or something to that effect which would serve to simply report the news, and not perpetuate difficulties between us.

EVERETT THOMAS

Virginia Beach, April 18, 1995

everett.thomas(AT)sourcebbs.com by CNB