Huey Newton

The American response to Huey Newton’s death should adequately mirror the complacency of 35 to 45 year olds in the 1980s.

While a few revere him as a saint and a handful revile him as a criminal, the large majority (black and white) will choose simply to look in other directions.

Younger members of my family are certainly perfect examples of this. They are most assuredly old enough to remember vividly the intense conflict and controversy of the 1960s and early 1970s, but as narcissistic capitalists of the 1980s they have long since abandoned any concern for the “causes,” goals, and controversies of any period. Instead, they reflect the spreading sole imperative of today: protecting their investments, their small businesses, and their annual vacations to places like Cabo and Maui.

This sort elect Madison-Avenue milk-toast puppets who don’t offend, look the same, sound the same, and are afraid to take any political stand.

We certainly aren’t short of issues. World poverty, nuclear disarmament, the environment, glasnost, Central America, etc. are every bit as vital as Vietnam, racial equality and Watergate. Apathy is a sign of the times.

Just maybe, Huey Newton hopped off the bus at just the right time. Maybe he finally washed his hands of The Dream.

WILLIAM LOCHMOELLER, Pasadena