Letter to the Editor

Concerning the recent election and the following installation of Dennis Darby as county sheriff—maybe this letter will help bring sanity back and reunite the county.

I wish people would stop it already. Just like the editor wrote in the Friday, Nov. 18 edition of The Panolian, Mr. Darby received the majority of the white votes, while Sheriff Griffin received the majority of the black votes. He was correct.

 I voted for Mr. Griffin because I thought he was the right man for the job and because he has done a great job—not because both he and I are black.

Sheriff Griffin did the right thing calling for the canvassing process, the same as Mr. Darby’s supporters did following the special election.

But I wish my fellow members of the black race would stop acting like when Mr. Darby does become sheriff, he is going to become our enemy. Please stop feeding this nonsense to the little kids. They are listening, also.

No matter who our sheriff is, he is the law and the law is on our side. People are acting like Mr. Darby is going to hire some more deputies and order them to bomb every black person.

People are acting like when we pass a sheriff’s department car, we should take off running and go hide. People should just listen to themselves. It doesn’t make sense at all.

Just think about these scenarios—There’s a big prison break at Parchman and five or six inmates escape and make their way to Panola County. Who are we rooting for-Sheriff Darby and his deputies or the escaped convicts?

—What if a family member, whether child, parent, brother or sister, is beaten, raped or robbed lying on the floor dying. Would we want Mr. Darby to find out who committed the crime?

—What if we have another family member on drugs real bad and we are trying real hard  to keep him or her clean but the same drug dealer keeps feeding  him or her drugs? Would we want Mr. Darby to stop this drug dealer?

Yes, yes, and yes.

How can we go around thinking that anyone who will be sheriff of this county will be our enemy if we abide by the law to the best of our ability? There are other things that need our attention such as gas prices, kids dropping out of school and unemployment just to name a few.

Let’s move on. The bottom line is this—no matter who is sheriff, Otis Griffin, Dennis Darby, Roscoe of the Dukes of Hazard or Matt Dillon from Gunsmoke, if you break the law, you are going to jail.

I know a lot of people are going  to get upset by this letter and if you want to talk about it, you know who I am and where to find me. If not call 662-654-5918 or 662-267-9041.

Thanks,
Bobby “Six-9” Bradford