Gazette should drop arrest report feature

I write to express my disapproval of your paper’s ongoing publication of the names and mugshots of individuals arrested in the area.
Your snapshot synopses of these people’s lives, condensed from one brief moment of misfortune, bad timing or stupidity in public serves no other purpose than to play into the smarmy politics of fear and sensationalism.
A trend which, sadly, is rapidly replacing objective intelligent reporting of issues of some use to the public in their everyday affairs.
While the paper’s clever disclaimer may absolve it of civil liability for so callously disregarding the feelings of those arrested, or maybe just help them sleep a little better, I would hope that anyone with minimal common sense would see this nonsensical and useless feature for the bullying that it really is. Kick ‘em when they’re down.
Yeah. Real cool. I guess it’s all fun and games until it happens to you.
I request, therefore, that if you, reading this right now agree with me, that you so express that to this paper and perhaps the feature will be dropped.
It just may be that our voices together will help in one small way to set the paper on a higher path than that represented by the “arrest report.”
Lord knows, there’s plenty of room on the high ground nowadays.
Bruce Noble
Independence