To the Editor:
While it is understandable that people's opinions on the racist comments of Dan Passner '06 in the Oct. 21 issue of the Justice and the aftermath to it will differ, some of the comments in the Oct. 31 letters section of the Justice didn't result from differing opinions, but rather came from a stunningly thoughtless mindset.
Paul Kandel '06 says that, in an open forum held in the Intercultural Center, "other students made blatantly bigoted comments, saying they 'wish the whole school looked like the ICC room.'" This comment was made in reference to the fact that there were both many students of color and many white students in the same room, both working toward confronting the issue of racism on the Brandeis campus. Given the context of the quote, it is completely inconceivable that Mr. Kandel could have reasonably interpreted the comment in any other way, and, thus, his claim that the comment was "blatantly bigoted" is both disingenuous and offensive.
Even more shocking is Martin Lieberman '96's claim that the column in question would have been "fine" had the last paragraph not been included. In the eighth paragraph of the article, Dusty Baker, the black manager of the Chicago Cubs, and Kenny Lofton, the Cubs' centerfielder, who is also black, are compared to Amos and Andy. "Amos & Andy" was an incredibly offensive minstrel radio and television show depicting white actors in "blackface" as nonsensical fools. Comparing two men to Amos and Andy is extremely insulting - there is nothing "fine" about it.
- Daniel Mauer '06