Re: “,” Oct. 24 guest commentary.
I was disappointed in many aspects of state Rep. Vicki Marble’s visit to the Cub Scouts and the aftermath. I appreciate Ms. Marble’s response; it is mostly good-natured. I am persuaded that the intent of her words was not racist; however, that is not the end of the discussion.
The heart of the problem is not only the question of racist words. It is the question of the content of our heart and the actions that arise from it. We all struggle with the conflict between self-interest and support of the community. In that respect we all have racist tendencies; but how will we act? What issues will we stand for?
Will we only work for the benefit of our own personal gain, the benefit of our team, our clan, our race? Or will we work to build an inclusive community for the betterment of all? Avoiding racist words is polite. Building an inclusive community is noteworthy. A politician who represents her base is doing her job. A politician who builds her community is creating history.
dz.dzٳ,Longmont
I appreciate the effort Vicki Marble made to share her take on the Cub Scout interview. It seemed like a reasonable, point-for-point outlining of her position. At the same timeit should be noted,even at the risk of taking things out of context, that everyone has a preferred narrative. I no more get Marble’s take than she would get mine or, presumptively, many others’.
A part of my narrative is thatas a white person in America, one of the privileges I enjoy is neverhaving to consider how the words I utter might be heard by someone else, particularly ifconvinced of my own intent. Ivalue Ms. Marble’seffortsand, from her view, she defended herselfwell. However, the problem ofunwitting stereotypingremains.
ThomasDavidson, Littleton
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