LETTER: The perils of identity politics
Beth Ellyn Rosenthal’s June 7 letter criticizing columnist Victor Joecks needs a rebuttal. She asks what’s wrong with America and the first words of her answer are, “A white man … ” She could have stopped right there.
I hate to tell Ms. Rosenthal, but white people are a part of her world and likely understand far more about it than she’d care to admit. Want some reality? A white man says nothing remotely racist, yet loses his job. A white homeless lady is gunned down by the cops for holding a screwdriver. I was stopped and detained by (black) cops because “a white boy in this ‘hood’ can only be here buying drugs.” Sorry, officer, I live here. Who cares, right?
I may not agree with Ms. Rosenthal’s views, but I will defend her right to express them. Too bad this “expression of views” is now a one-way street. While black people are being encouraged to “stand up” and “speak up,” white people are being encouraged to “sit down” and “shut up” or suffer the very real consequences.
