I went to Jamestown to attend the public hearing on the N.C. General Assembly redistricting plan. What a fiasco. Simultaneous meetings in seven locations, connected electronically.

At Guilford Technical Community College, a room seating 25 people was set up for participants. These interested people came from Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point and points beyond, including at least four from Salisbury. Those of us that did not arrive before 3 p.m. for a 4 p.m. meeting were herded into another, much larger classroom, seating probably 100 or more. We had to watch on several big screens and strain to listen to the proceedings with very little sound.

Needless to say, the people were not very happy. Finally after 30 minutes or so, school techs arrived with a large speaker and hooked it up. Yes, we could now hear, but the audio was terrible, with live feeds being switched site to site to listen to rotating speakers comment on the plan.

There were probably 75 or so in our overflow room, and I know Charlotte also had a packed house, as comments were made there about the room not being large enough to accommodate those speakers.

To make a long story shorter, it was very obvious that the powers that be behind the hearing were not really welcoming speakers; they really did not want to hear what was said.

The maps are still very one-sided. The only hope for a fair and just redistricting plan lies within the court system. Yes, both sides have rigged and manipulated the maps, so a bipartisan group is the only fair way to go.

Please ask for independent rewriting of our General Assembly districts in both houses once and for all and let’s get on with living our lives in peace with each other in the greatest country in the world.

— George W. Benson

Salisbury