August 9, 2004 Letter to CNN Crossfire
James Landrith
PO Box 8208
Alexandria, VA 22306-8208
August 9, 2004
CNN Crossfire
Dear Crossfire:
On Friday, July 30, “Crossfire” host Tucker Carlson stated that Democratic presidential candidate Senator John Kerry’s “plan for Iraq, such as it is, is to have other people, dark-skinned foreigners from the Middle East, fight our war for us.”
Carlson’s remarks are unacceptable, offensive, and threaten our ability to garner the kind of support from regional allies that we’ve been soliciting for months. Carlson should consider the fact that many of the brave men and women serving in our armed forces are also “dark-skinned.”
While I appreciate the efforts of “Crossfire” to bring lively, intelligent debate to some of today’s most controversial issues, I think that the hosts of your program should be more conscious of their words in the future. I believe that it would be appropriate for Carlson to make a public apology.
As a former Marine who served with many "dark skinned" individuals and the editor and publisher of The Multiracial Activist and The Abolitionist Examiner, I find Mr. Carlson's need to differentiate individuals by skin color to be completely unnecessary and likely an attempt to pander to the more extremist elements of American society. CNN should not let this gaffe go by unpunished. The "race" or melanin content of individuals should not be the concern of CNN or its employees.
Sincerely,
James Landrith