Letters: Jul. 29, 1966

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Sir: May the hair on your toes grow ever longer. Thanks for the story on The Lord of the Rings [July 15]. And by the way, college students aren't the only ones who read about hobbits: I'm a sophomore in high school.

LAURIE CARLSON

Long Beach, Calif.

Sir: I have been reading Tolkien since I was ten, at a time when, as you say, it "languished largely unread." At that time, Tolkien came as a blessed and delightful discovery, unsullied by elvish slogans on subway walls, FRODO LIVES buttons, or campus societies. But now, everywhere one turns, gushing over-enthusiasts are to be found turning Tolkien into a common cult, with no recognition for the most ardent readers of all who, instead of joining the society, are keeping quiet. As for you, TIME, may the hair on your feet become mangy and fall out. You have done your bit.

JESSICA LOTTMAN

New York City

Defining Power

Sir: As a Negro, I regret that the term "black power" [July 22] has been introduced into the civil rights movement, because it has a detrimental and misleading connotation. The Negro wants power only in the sense of being represented, heard and accepted. Because of his lack of power, he has been stripped of human dignity. Even steel wears out: many Negroes are tired of being subservient. I have been taught to turn the other cheek, and I definitely believe in this philosophy. However, many Negroes are adhering to the natural instinct of man to retaliate before being mutilated.

ARCHIE W. BATES

Norfolk

Sir: It is time for honest whites to acknowledge that the concept of black power is necessary and long overdue. In New York, for example, despite a decade of peaceful civil rights protest, still another lost generation is growing up imprisoned behind ghetto walls. We cannot deny that white power is used every day to keep black New Yorkers in their place—in black jobs, black schoolrooms and black neighborhoods.

Now at last our black fellow citizens are telling us they are tired of begging. They are telling us that if we refuse to reckon with their humanity, we must reckon with their power. Let us not be surprised if their power proves to be almost as ugly as ours.

MERRILL MARTIN

New York City

Sir: "Whitey" is now offering the Negro the kind of power that really counts—the kind that builds self-respect, the power of knowledge, which is neither white nor black. This power cannot be donated; it demands something that the Negro as a group has not yet had the chance to demonstrate—learning power.

Until Negro leadership successfully directs the black American toward his only practical goal—knowledge—the power of the Negro will remain what it is today, a mere public nuisance. And Whitey is beginning to yawn at that.

N. HENRY

Yonkers, N.Y.

The Way They Feel

Sir: Your cover story on Indonesia, "Vengeance with a Smile" [July 15], was, I think, timely, educational and necessary.

NORM JONES

Vancluse, N.S.W.

Australia

Sir: The caption on your cover, INDONESIA: The Land the Communists Lost, is not complete. It should be followed by: Without American Troops, There is a moral to it.

HUGO VAN ARX

Patzcuaro, Mexico