Where has Nate Rouse been? In calendar year 2014, a total of 2,231 individuals were shot and wounded in the city of Chicago! Of these wounded victims 76.1% were black. That averages one person wounded every 3 hours and 19 minutes. Further, there were a total of 456 murdered in the city of Chicago. That averages one person murdered every 19 hours and 12 minutes. Of these murdered victims 68.8% were black. The overwhelming majority of the perpetrators were black.
I am left wondering, why Nate Rouse did not convene a “Black Life Matters” conversation last year? My view is that Rouse was looking for some notoriety, following Ferguson, while ignoring the mayhem in his own backyard, which has been an ongoing crime spree for over 40 years!
It is difficult to understand why Rouse would convene a segregated meeting in obvious violation of federal discrimination laws. If a white principal had a closed door meeting for whites only, that principal would rightly be fired. It is time Rouse be shown the door. His divisive conduct is a disgrace to Oak Park and River Forest High School. OPRF needs a principal who is there for all the students, not just one group. With Rouse, I do not know if he is ignorant or arrogant (above the law); it really does not matter. The school board should fire him and start the search for a principal who leads by example and can move OPRF in a positive direction.
In 1968 when I arrived at Marine Crops boot camp, our Senior Drill Instructor, Staff Sgt. Garcia, announced to Platoon 1096, on day one, “From this point forward, you are not black, white or brown, you are all green [as in Marine Crops green].” The platoon then worked as a group without any issues related to race. Clearly, S.Sgt. Garcia had a better approach to race relations that Rouse over 45 years ago!
Dr. Martin Luther King asked that we all judge a person not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I follow the teachings of Dr. King and S.Sgt. Garcia. Hopefully Mr. Rouse can change his ways and do likewise.
In closing, we should all remember that we are part of one race, and that is the human race!
P.S. Check heyjackass.com for information on criminal stats in Chicago.
Daniel Hefner
Oak Park
