ED GORDON, host:
Now onto your comments. Each week, we go through your letters and voicemails to get your take on stories we've covered on NEWS AND NOTES.
Like many others, commentator Robin Washington wondered if Barry Bonds surpassing Babe Ruth on baseball's all-time homerun list should be marked with an asterisk. Bonds' move into second place on the list has been marred by allegations of steroid use. Others say it's a question of racism.
Listener Dawn Johnson(ph) of Oxford, Mississippi thinks the debate has little to do with race. She sent us this e-mail:
"If you take a little time to dig a little deeper into the issue, you will find that the anger baseball fans feel right now has less to do with the color of Mr. Bonds' skin and more to do with the content of his character. Most people who believe that Mr. Bonds should be left out of the Hall of Fame, or at least be included with an asterisk, feel the same about Mark McGuire. The difference here is Mr. Bonds has been antagonistic toward baseball fans for years. There is already a resentment and dislike in place that has little to do with Mr. Bonds' race."
She also writes: "Secondly, I would like to point out that there is a very big difference between Mr. Bonds' steroid use and Babe Ruth's alcoholism. Steroids are play-enhancing drugs, whereas alcohol tends to hinder play. While Bonds may have been able to achieve more with steroids, Babe Ruth might have gone even further without the alcohol."
One note, Ms. Johnson. The allegations of Mr. Bonds' use of steroids are at this time simply that: allegations.
A roundtable topic that garnered several responses was our discussion of he Duke Women's lacrosse team. They were in the news not only for making the National Lacrosse Semi-Finals, but also for wearing sweatbands that read "innocent" in support of their male colleagues. We discussed whether race trumped gender in the Duke sex assault case. Roundtable guest Bob Meadows said he didn't think so, but in an e-mail, Adriel Trott(ph) of Philadelphia, disagreed. She had this to say:
"His argument was women don't vote together or agree together, suggesting there isn't gender unity among women. That is exactly the point. Race does prompt more unity than gender, and that is a problem both for women and for blacks in America." She continues: "White women oppressed by white men get power by siding with whiteness instead of rejecting power as a way to be liberated. Thanks for taking on this issue. I'd like to hear more discussions on the cross-section of race and gender."
Elizabeth Cooksey(ph) of Savannah, Georgia, has nothing but praise for NPR's Farai Chideya. She sent us this e-mail.
"I'm a regular listener to NEWS AND NOTES, and have alerted a good number of my friends to the program, in part because I am so impressed with Farai Chideya's interview style. Her name came to mind right away during this evening's discussion about whether the country is ready for women in primetime journalism. I'm always delighted to hear women doing the interviews that were for so long the territory of male voices."
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GORDON: And we appreciate all of your comments, good or bad. We want to hear from you, so please keep them coming. You can call us at 202-408-3330, or you can e-mail us. Log on to npr.org and click on contact us. And please be sure to tell us where you're writing from and how to pronounce your name. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.