Dear Editor:

Just a quick thought. As a teacher of 20+ years in the St. Francis (KS) school system, Guy's comments on nepotism struck home--not so much because nepotism, in all it's various forms, exists in St. Francis, but because it's important to stop and think, from time to time, how insidious it really is.

Nepotism consists of extending to someone that does not deserve certain benefits and privileges those same benefits and privileges. Nepotism in it's simplest form is nothing more than affirmative action. Although it's true that, in many people's eyes, affirmative action is one way (and in many's view, a proper way) to mitigate past injustices it's not that simple. My problem with affirmative action (and in microcosm, nepotism) is that it expresses no abiding faith in the belief that discrimination is discrimination, a concept most would agree, is abominable.

At what point did our society buy into the notion that reward and privilege are (and should be) extended to those that should not, and do not, deserve it?

Steve Jenkins
St. Francis, Kansas

PS. Guy: though we disagree on many issues, can we agree that i did marry the best of all of your many nieces?