Racism

If Rabbi Chaim Landau had castigated any American ethnic group — say, African Americans — as hateful, duplicitous and violent, which is how he describes Palestinians, The Sun would never have printed such vile racism ("Mr. Obama, don't equate Israel with its enemies," May 27). But Zionists and their apologists have to revert to such sophistic rationalizations to justify a brutal and illegal occupation in Palestine. It's much easier than facing up to the true nature of Israel's policies in the region.

A student group at Towson University has again drawn criticism from other students who claim it is racist. But school administrators say they won't be taking any action against the group. On Saturday night, members of Youth for Western Civilization chalked messages that included the words "White Pride" at several locations on campus, including the Student Union and Freedom Square, said its president, Matthew Heimbach. When discovered Monday, the messages angered other students.

I have had all I can stomach of Leonard Pitts' ranting and raving about racism ("For Obama, there's no reason to make nice," Aug. 7). I am offended, as are many of my friends, at being labeled "racist" every time I or they disagree with President Obama's socialistic, Marxist policies. It has absolutely nothing to do with his color, and Mr. Pitts and the Democrats know it. But they continue to go down the same old tired road of disingenuously labeling dissension as racism. Mr. Pitts claims that "this is not politics as usual," referring to Mr. Obama being black.

Letter writer Lyle Rescott chides The Sun for correctly outing Newt Gingrich as a bigot ("Newt Gingrich isn't a racist," Jan. 22). I can't resist paraphrasing the old adage: If it looks like a duck, waddles like a duck and pontificates like a duck - it's definitely a duck! Ann Power, Catonsville

As we prepare to celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King, it is right to take pride in our determined, if unsteady, march toward racial understanding. But it is also right to recall the pain that our acts of bigotry — large and small — have inflicted along the way and that remain, indelibly, in memory. I can give such testimony. I witnessed and began to understand for the first time the personal humiliation of racial discrimination during my senior year at Haverford College.

Letter writer Lyle Rescott chides The Sun for correctly outing Newt Gingrich as a bigot ("Newt Gingrich isn't a racist," Jan. 22). I can't resist paraphrasing the old adage: If it looks like a duck, waddles like a duck and pontificates like a duck - it's definitely a duck! Ann Power, Catonsville

The tea party is made up of different groups and their organization is broken up among those different groups. You don't have leaders in the tea parties, only organizers, and each member can volunteer to be an organizer. How can the tea party come out against racism within their group, if it is just an assembly of people? Some may not even be registered members of the tea party but just show up at the rally. All large groups have some small elements of racism because racism exists among all ethnicities.

I agree with letter writer Gail Householder about the intensity of opposition to the president, but unlike her and her friends, most of my white friends do believe there has been remarkable evidence of racism in the vitriolic attacks against President Obama ("No racism here, Mr. Pitts," Aug. 11). Anyone is entitled to agree or disagree with a political leader. But to deny there is racial hatred in this case is to deny the obvious. Mr. Pitts stated in his column why he reached this conclusion, and he actually provided supporting evidence, while your letter writer provides absolutely none to support calling Mr. Obama a "Marxist.

In the midst of the fracas over whether Shepherd Pratt can run a home for psychiatric patients ("Discrimination in Ruxton," April 25), isn't everyone forgetting Ruxton's intransigence when a light rail stop was proposed 20 years ago? Not only does the light rail conveniently bestride the Ruxton commercial district, but trains stopped there for many years when there were few if any black passengers on them. But although the MTA more or less begged Ruxton to acquiesce to a light rail stop, the community refused to have any access via the light rail.

The op-ed piece by Janet Gilbert about a college her son visited 500 miles away drew my attention ("The college we visited was might nice … and mighty white," June 16). Her position of not being a racist by rejecting a school for being too white makes her a racist by definition. If she truly wants her son to be in a more diverse community, why is she living in Woodstock and working in Baltimore? I am sure many city high schools are less white than the Woodstock school. I know Douglass, Walbrook, or perhaps Dunbar high schools would give her son a great education with diversity.

Thomas Schaller is to be commended for his commentary revealing a dark side behind the avuncular charm of Ron Paul ("Ron Paul disavows ... Ron Paul?" Dec. 28). As a progressive, I've long been skeptical (to put it mildly) of Dr. Paul's right-wing libertarianism, which prefers a rapacious market over community and an anarchic rugged individualism over social justice and human solidarity. A society is much more than a market, and the individual is a social being. Democracy is a kind of community.

Baltimore Fire Chief James S. Clack, who has been grappling with allegations of racism in his department, announced Tuesday that he is promoting two African-American officers to be his top deputies. Clack, who is white, said he promoted the two assistant chiefs because of their qualifications, not because of race. But he stressed that the department has bolstered diversity initiatives under his leadership and he denied claims by a black firefighter's group that the department is plagued by institutional racism.

According to Leonard Pitts Jr., the tea party is racist ("The black self-loathing of Herman Cain," Oct. 16). If you're intrigued by Herman Cain (who hates the fact that he's black), you're a racist. If you disagree with President Barack Obama on a policy issue or you didn't vote for him (he's black, you know), you're a racist. If you admire Condoleezza Rice (who is too "white"), you're a racist because she would never condemn the racists who surrounded her. These are the claims Mr. Pitts makes in his column about why he loathes Mr. Cain and why racists love him. If only Mr. Cain shared the liberal, self-serving view (it's kept liberals in power for decades)

The lingering effects of racism percolate through Alonzo D. LaMont Jr.'s "Zulu Fits. " Although the production directed by the playwright at Heralds of Hope Theater has some rough edges, it's a thoughtful play about how young African-Americans are literally haunted by things that happened centuries ago. "Zulu Fits" is the final play to open in this summer's Baltimore Playwrights Festival. It also marks the debut for Heralds of Hope Theater in Baltimore City's Station North arts district.

It is 5 a.m. and I can't sleep because of the rage I felt at the letter written mostly consisting of name calling diatribes against columnist Leonard Pitts and President Obama for purportedly playing the racism card ("No racism here, Mr. Pitts," Aug. 11). Rest assured, Mr. Pitts and Mr. Obama might have a better vantage point of what racism looks like, smells like and acts like than right wingers writing from the safety of exurbia and white privilege. I still receive racist e-mails from that milieu purporting that Mr. Obama is the Antichrist, a closet Muslim, a socialist, a proponent of one world government, decorating the White House with esoteric Middle Eastern symbolism and failing to salute the American flag and all sorts of equally ridiculous reality challenged nonsense.

I saw the point of the writer who complained about Leonard Pitts' rather frequent accusations of "racism," but to say that President Obama's policies are "socialistic, Marxist" ("No racism here Mr. Pitts " Readers Respond, Aug 11)? Give me a break. This is not Fidel Castro, people! Obama is so timidly middle-of-the-road I am always shocked when I hear people describe him as if he were some flaming radical. He seems to be pursuing the same policies as George Bush before him, a far as I can see. Even "Obamacare" is hardly universalized medicine.

According to Leonard Pitts Jr., the tea party is racist ("The black self-loathing of Herman Cain," Oct. 16). If you're intrigued by Herman Cain (who hates the fact that he's black), you're a racist. If you disagree with President Barack Obama on a policy issue or you didn't vote for him (he's black, you know), you're a racist. If you admire Condoleezza Rice (who is too "white"), you're a racist because she would never condemn the racists who surrounded her. These are the claims Mr. Pitts makes in his column about why he loathes Mr. Cain and why racists love him. If only Mr. Cain shared the liberal, self-serving view (it's kept liberals in power for decades)

Thomas Schaller is to be commended for his commentary revealing a dark side behind the avuncular charm of Ron Paul ("Ron Paul disavows ... Ron Paul?" Dec. 28). As a progressive, I've long been skeptical (to put it mildly) of Dr. Paul's right-wing libertarianism, which prefers a rapacious market over community and an anarchic rugged individualism over social justice and human solidarity. A society is much more than a market, and the individual is a social being. Democracy is a kind of community.

I agree with letter writer Gail Householder about the intensity of opposition to the president, but unlike her and her friends, most of my white friends do believe there has been remarkable evidence of racism in the vitriolic attacks against President Obama ("No racism here, Mr. Pitts," Aug. 11). Anyone is entitled to agree or disagree with a political leader. But to deny there is racial hatred in this case is to deny the obvious. Mr. Pitts stated in his column why he reached this conclusion, and he actually provided supporting evidence, while your letter writer provides absolutely none to support calling Mr. Obama a "Marxist.