Pubdate: 20 Mar 1999 Source: Fresno Bee, The (CA) Copyright: 1999 The Fresno Bee Contact: http://www.fresnobee.com/ Section: Letters to the editor Author: Gene Hallam, Auberry TOO CORRECT The state police superintendent in New Jersey was fired recently because he stated that minorities are responsible for most illegal drug activity. Let that be a warning to local law enforcement officials to never comment on the number of home invasion robberies committed by southeast Asians, or the percentage of Spanish surnames found in news accounts of traffic accidents. I'm retired from law enforcement, and nobody can fire me for stating the obvious. Why are we so afraid of hurting someone's overly sensitive feelings that we've devised an elaborate plot to avoid accuracy and consistency? Why must those from south of the border be called Hispanics or Mexican-Americans, when there is no similar policy regarding those from across our border to the north? If a person from Canada is simply a Canadian, why isn't a person from Mexico simply a Mexican? Why must those of African descent be referred to Afro-Americans, when those of us whose ancestors came from Europe don't insist on being called Euro-Americans? Why are those once inaccurately referred to as Indians now called Native Americans, which is equally inaccurate? Their ancestors were here centuries before this continent and its neighbor to the south were named for some Italian - excuse me, Latin-European - whose only connection to the new world Columbus discovered was writing about it. Perhaps they should be referred to as Pre-Columbians. I think we have become so concerned with political correctness that we've let that concern overrule common sense. Gene Hallam Auberry - --- MAP posted-by: Mike Gogulski