Where’s your hard news?
I was saddened by what I can only assume was an effort to achieve humor rather than write a serious article about Cynthia Burton’s remarkable new book, Jefferson Vindicated [“Father figure,” Ask Ace, September 20]. This volume has made a valuable contribution to the topic, pointing out numerous serious errors in the work of some highly respected scholars and genealogists, and bringing to light important new evidence they overlooked. And Ms. Burton has shown herself to be a remarkably able natural scholar dedicated to the search for the truth in the finest Jeffersonian tradition. This could have been presented as an inspiring human-interest story about a courageous woman’s search for the truth rather than sacrificing the truth to your reporter’s lame effort to find titillating humor in the story by focusing on an issue which is not even arguably close to a central theme of the book.
Robert F. Turner
Albemarle County
The writer is the former chair of the Scholars Commission that examined the Jefferson-Hemings controversy in 2000-01, and determined that the allegations were likely false.
By the book
Readers of your newspaper’s recent misrepresentations of genealogist and independent scholar Cynthia H. Burton may be interested in two clarifying facts about her new book, Jefferson Vindicated: Fallacies, Omissions, and Contradictions in the Hemings Genealogical Search:
-It contains an enthusiastic foreword by former Monticello director James A. Bear, Jr.
-Monticello’s gift shop sells it alongside other serious Thomas Jefferson-related books, despite disagreeing with Ms. Burton about the Hemings-Jefferson paternity mystery.
Steven T. Corneliussen
Poquoson, Virginia
Phallic fallacies
A clarification regarding “Father figured?” It appears that Thomas Jefferson was away from Monticello for parts of each of the four-week windows of time which Eston Hemings and Sally’s other two sons were probably conceived.
Main ideas in Jefferson Vindicated focus on:
1) Fallacies, omissions and contradictions surrounding the issue.
2) Thomas Jefferson’s denials, character, health and family relationships.
3) Observations of witnesses, contemporaries, neighbors and former slaves.
4) Randolph Jefferson’s presence at Mon-ticello when Eston was conceived; that he was easily influenced by friends with black mistresses; and his reputation for socializing and dancing with his brother’s slaves.
Though Thomas Jefferson’s ability to father Eston was likely impacted by risk factors such as his age, illnesses, prescribed treatments, stress level, habits and 18th-century lifestyle, I prefer to describe Jefferson’s urological health in medical terms—rather than the expressions attributed to me in “Ask Ace.”
Not only is the book at New Dominion Bookshop, as the article noted, but it is also available at Monticello, the Visitors’ Center, Michie Tavern, UVA Book Store, Student Book Store and Mincer’s.
Cynthia H. Burton
Albemarle County
What is terrorism?
Cathy Harding: This letter is in response to your recent “Read This First” exercise in semantics regarding the use of the word “terrorism” by Rick Turner [September 20]. Any response to your seemingly innocuous vocabulary lesson would be remiss without a precise definition of terror and terrorism. Terror being something that causes intense, overpowering fear. Terrorism being the unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing, often for ideological or political reasons.
I don’t know if you have ever been subjected to systematic oppression of any sort, or racism in particular, but I can assure you from personal, academic and professional perspectives, that racist acts are indeed terrifying, fearful, forceful, violent, intense and overpowering. They occur at the expense of the victim, for the benefit of the perpetrator, whether it is in the form of capital gains, or soothed egos. The letters section does not permit an in-depth assessment of the psychological repercussions of institutionalized racism; however, to view the recent incidents at UVA as isolated, and merely crude, is an understatement, and presents an extremely myopic view of historical fact. Slavery, Jim Crow, anti-miscegenation, lynching and vandalism are all examples of terrorist acts against African-Americans. These acts may have decreased in frequency, but not in effect. With the advent of the Internet, and global communications, these incidents reverberate with the same intensity as a hobbled Achilles tendon of runaway “property.”
But what can I expect? Certainly, Osama Bin Laden does not believe that he is a terrorist; why should the white, neo-hippie editor of the liberal art and news weekly believe that her neighbors are terrorists? If you were to ask the victims of 9/11, and almost any black person walking down the street, you just might get another answer.
The efficacy of language depends upon an unwritten agreement between those who use it. Your call to be more careful in our use of the word “terrorism” shuns the input of those who disagree, and those who are most affected by its use. It is precisely the idea that Dean Rick Turner is just another overreacting, overemotional black person that perpetuates the idea that it is O.K. to disregard what he has to say.
It is too difficult to recognize your own ego defenses allowing you to deny the fact that terrorist acts occur in our back yard every day against people you know with little to no attention, fanfare, or relief funds. The social contract that racism is built on depends upon the hegemonic forces of denial and concession for its survival. It also relies upon a lack of empathy that is evident in your statement. Ten seconds in the shoes of a victim of daily mental assault might have curbed your sarcasm and pedantic tone. Is “name calling” the worst that could have happened? No, but you can safely bet that you won’t be the one victimized when the worst actually comes.
Eboni C. Bugg
Albemarle County
Holy crap
Regarding the Mailbag section in the September 20 issue of C-VILLE Weekly: I was not surprised to see the Rev. Kort Greene, Jr. of Scottsville suggesting that women who are seeking abortions go back to using the “clothes hanger” because “the wages of sin is death” (the quotes are his own). If Heaven is filled with Christians like the pastor of this church, then it is sure to be a jolly, fun-filled place. May I assume that the “reverend” is also pro-war and pro-death penalty and anti-environment, and pro-corporation and pro-capitalism, just like Jesus was? Oh, wait—that’s Bush, not Jesus.
Stephen Aust
Charlottesville