TO THE EDITOR:
Eric Boyers, in an Oct. 8 letter, writes that my letter to The Daily Tar Heel on Oct. 7 was too harsh, even “vicious.” He implies that I said Republicans are racists, pro-lifers are woman-haters and conservatives hate the poor.
Perhaps it would be harsh to say those things, but I did not say any of them. I never used the word “Republican” at all and did not bring up any specific issue except the right to vote.
But since Boyers admits that the “problem” of voter impersonation might not exist, it seems fair to me to find the lawmakers’ actual intentions in addressing this non-problem by looking at the well-known effects of their actions.
This is precisely the approach of the U.S. Justice Department in its recent suit against North Carolina that won The Daily Tar Heel’s praise. I do not know the deepest motives of our legislative majority, but its intention to block the votes of students and minorities is as clear as noonday.
I’m an historian of North Carolina and the U.S. South. It’s burned into my brain how many lives were lost to gain the minority voting rights which our General Assembly has attempted to curtail.
I also remember that the 26th Amendment was a direct response to the loss of 55,000 young Americans in Vietnam, as well as the efforts of those — mostly students — who protested their unnecessary deaths.
I’m deeply saddened that some UNC students now seem indifferent to the rights that others won for them at so much cost. That may sound harsh, but the shoe seems to fit.
Harry Watson
Professor
History
