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No excuse for speeding

I’m outraged, but not for the pc-required reason. Every event descibed ("Driving while black?" 8/11/10) has happened to me at one time or another — except when I get stopped for a traffic violation, I get a ticket. Councilmember status gets Quinney off the hook, but cries foul anyway because the officer isn’t nice. I’ve had white officers be nice or not nice to me; I’ve had black officers be nice or not nice to me. That’s life. Either way, I didn’t enjoy those experiences and choose to avoid them by obeying traffic laws to the best of my ability. Setting the cruise on 80 mph and not using turn signals displays a self-centered and potentially deadly disregard for other motorists. It also shows a disrespect for the rule of law that would automatically cause me to question his ability to function within the law while carrying out his public duties when that function did not serve his "me first" attitude. His decision to go 80 mph was not a driving error — he intended to do this and do it for the whole trip. Had he chosen to follow the rules, the incident would not have happened.

— Jeff Stetson East Lansing

A frustrating reminder

It was timely to read "Driving while black?" The night before was our neighborhood picnic, and my husband and I had an enjoyable conversation with Derrick Quinney, which made the incident described in the article even more offensive to me.

As I read the article, I was reminded of my college days. I grew up in Walled Lake, Michigan, and attended Michigan State University in the early 70’s. Rather than always taking I-96 when driving home, I sometimes used Grand River Ave. to M-59, driving the back-roads through the small towns, including Williamston, Webberville, Fowlerville, Howell and Brighton. One day, I had my African American room-mate in the car with me, and needing to stop for gas, I pulled into a station in Howell. My room-mate was very uncomfortable, which took me by surprise, since I had not heard of the Klan presence in Howell. We got gas and left quickly, and as we left, I learned about the presence of the Klan in Howell.

As I read the article "Driving while black,” I was reminded of that day and also the historical past of the area of Howell and Brighton. I thought that since almost 35 years had passed since the incident with my room-mate, times had changed, and that skin color was no longer the issue that it once was. It is frustrating to be reminded yet again, that many of the offensive behaviors of the past are alive and well today.

Should Mr. Quinney have been stopped? Who knows? Not signaling for a lane change and speeding are offenses that should probably be dealt with, although after driving that same stretch on Friday, I noticed that the officer could have stopped many, many motorists for the same offenses!

It is my hope that the officer is identified and challenged to change his behavior and approach to all people, regardless of age, race and gender.

— Micki Fuhrman Lansing

Thanks, voters

I would like to extend a warm and sincere thank you to all Eaton County residents for their vote of confidence in Tuesday’s Primary Election. As a county commissioner and educator, I have been privileged to serve Eaton County and I would be honored to continue advocating for you at the Capitol, as your next state representative. I look forward to continuing our conversation about how we can improve our community and turn Michigan around! Thank you again for your outpouring of support.

— Theresa Abed Candidate for State Representative