READERS' VIEWS

ALL PHOTOS OF LIFE-TAKING EVENTS DISTURBING

It was perplexing that a reader could be angry that the Herald-Leader published a picture of the eventing horse Frodo Baggins' crash or the ailing racehorse Eight Belles' demise. Each day, I open any newspaper and see photographs of fatal car accidents and other occurrences that ended someone's life.

I understand that these are not ideal photos for someone who loves horses to have to view. I hated to see this happen, but I also hate to see photos of car crashes, plane crashes, bombings or the aftermath of cyclones that took lives.

My brother died on Comair Flight 5191, and I can almost assure you that the same photos that make my family and 48 others sick to our stomachs on a still regular basis are the very ones that readers willingly viewed when they were published.

Melissa Hill
Richmond

Racial disparity

The Herald-Leader recently reported on two young people who were killed. One was Connie Blount, 18, the victim of a hit-and-run. The other was Dominic Faulkner, 20, who was shot on Whitney Avenue.

Although I am not related to either of them, reading about their deaths brought me great sadness.

I wonder why we heard so much about Blount and the police looking for her killer, but so little about Faulkner.

I usually do not like to bring up the race issue. But as a young African-American woman, I have to wonder if the Faulkner death is being pushed to the side because of the obvious race issue. Faulkner was black.

How does the police department decide what will and will not be released to the newspapers?

Shannon Brooks
Lexington

No cause for celebration

On April 4, a bipartisan group of House leaders introduced a resolution to honor and celebrate Israel's 60th anniversary.

Congress should not pass one-sided resolutions that fail to address the entirety of what the creation of Israel has meant to the people who live there, both Palestinians and Israelis.

The anniversary does not call for celebration, but for an honest assessment of the manner in which the country was created and its consequences.

Israel's creation is the single event that led to ongoing hostility between Arabs and Israelis. It led to the instability of the Middle East. It meant the destruction of hundreds of Palestinian towns and villages and the forced expulsion of nearly 1 million Palestinians.

Generations of those original families still live in refugee camps. Over the past 60 years, no concrete action has been taken to resolve this problem.

The majority of Palestinians live in abject poverty. Those populations remain vulnerable to extremist organizations. The United States contributes to the violence by blindly providing military aid to Israel.

Israel continues collective punishment of the Palestinian population through the military occupation of Palestinian lands, home demolitions, expansion of illegal outpost settlements, barrier walls, blocked access to medical care, checkpoints and targeting of the civilian population.

The United States should support a just and lasting peace between these communities by encouraging dialogue and diplomacy.

Ahmad Malkawi
Lexington

Deaths unnecessary

Two horses had to be mercy-killed after falling at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event. Hope the riders are all right, but they should get off the horses and find another way to get their kicks instead of pushing animals to their limits.

These are two horses that won't be able to pull around the 88mm tank guns and 105mm artillery pieces when the oil dries up. We are going to need those guns.

If you want to jump things on a horse and put your own life on the line, that's fine. Get a stick horse.

Many toys today have computerized chips and can talk. Buy one that says, "You love me so much that you broke my leg. Shoot me."

Floyd Shipley
Georgetown

Need disposal method

On April 29, I read another account in the Herald-Leader about neglected horses. These articles are reoccurring.

The subject is distressing because I like horses. I grew up riding horses to pick up the mail, to go to town for farm supplies and to get to school and church. We used the same horses to farm, haul coal and hay and for many other uses.

After I completed my professional education, I bought a small farm in 1962 and bought horses. All five of my children learned to ride and enjoyed having their friends come to the farm to ride horseback.

I bred mares, raised colts and sold some of my horses. I love horses, but they are livestock, same as my cattle.

One primary reason we are seeing neglect of horses is that by eliminating the slaughter market, the value of the pleasure horse has dropped to near zero. I feel strongly that the ban on horse slaughter will result in many more neglected horses.

R. Eugene Bowling
Richmond

Higher goals

Oh, please. Being Derby Queen is not "every little girl's dream" as stated in the Herald-Leader's front page teaser on May 2.

Many dream of being astronauts, concert pianists, chemists, veterinarians and other stimulating professions, including president of the United States.

Marge Krause
Lexington

Practice for Games

In 2007, I volunteered to work at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event as I have for the last four years. On the first day of the games, I spent 90 minutes waiting to exit Interstate 75. Traffic was backed up for miles and created an incredibly dangerous situation.

Police presence, or any other effort to manage incoming traffic, was completely lacking. After turning into the Kentucky Horse Park and onto a secondary access road, I saw the first signs of police presence. Four state police officers were chatting and leaning against their cruisers.

How can our community possibly manage traffic for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games if we haven't mastered traffic control for the Rolex? It has given us 24 years to practice, and we seem no closer to reasonable and safe traffic flow.

Would it not be prudent to use the Rolex as a way to establish safe roads, efficient entrance to and exit from the Horse Park and basic traffic management before the Games? Even simple lane-direction changes to ease the flow of traffic would help.

I would hate to see a needless accident before officials consider this a worthy issue.

Jennifer K. Bell

Lexington