tobywankenobi

The WP article is a disappointment on every level and does not ingratiate the call to eliminate racial disparities. I don’t know Collis Temple. That being said, CT and his family seem to be good for LSU in general, and CT Sr. transcending the color barrier at LSU was a great thing…not just for Louisianans, but it opened doors for people from all over the world and our country who otherwise would never have had the opportunity.

I don’t know Mr. Toombs either, but for me, the tone of entitlement that the author portrays does beg the question “who is Chris Toombs.”

I know what this guy does for a living as indicated in the article, but I think that he needs to ask himself some questions about his own decisions he has made over the course of his life and rethink who might be responsible for the consequences. He was a lobbyist (a $4-$5 billion dollar industry), representing special interest through monetary influence. Lobbyists/special interest are in large part the political machine that has undermined democracy and diminished the voice of “the little guy”. Just my opinion.

He also attempted to leverage a campaign victory by abandoning his values system and posing as a conservative….and seemingly directs this misfortune as the result of other peoples actions and influences. He needed to be true to himself and the people he represented in this situation. He obviously has a very good friend, Mr. McLaughlin, that made him aware of the significance of such a conflicting personal/professional decision and how it effects your perception of “success”. Like Mr. McLaughlin said “it’s a good thing he didn’t win.”

I do believe that Brian Kelly’s salary is excessive, but that alone doesn’t make him a bad person. I also have a hard time believing that Collis Temple’s fundamental beliefs are consistent with those portrayed in this articIe. I do believe he is the kind of community leader we want representing LSU based on what I know of his character. I do believe that he has strong convictions about racial equality and how it benefits our society, institutions and culture. We need people like him! God knows we need to narrow the racial divide.

I thought the article was sad, disappointing, shallow and unfair to Brian Kelly and a truly unfortunate representation of Louisiana/LSU. And if Toombs really believes his life is the product of countless iterations of unfairness related to the racial disparities in our country, he needs to look inward. The guy has had a lot of doors opened for him. He just needs to realize that most people (of all race/religion/etc.) have not had nearly the opportunities as it sounds like he has been given. I just hope that one day he will eventually see the positive in his life and see it this way. Especially doing what he does for LSU. We need him to make a difference. A positive one!

**hey at least this idiot that wrote the article isn’t one of our journalists!! He needs to look at what’s going on at the capitol and get out of our back yard if wants to truly understand what is poisoning the culture of America!