Compassion lacking

Lee Benson's column "Sore losers won't let go in California" (Dec. 1) could only have been written by someone comfortably in the cultural majority, not by someone who has experienced discrimination or who has watched someone they love experience it. Benson's public demonstration of his lack of compassion is extraordinary. If he had been writing in 1963, he might have said the same things about the civil rights march on Washington and the "I have a dream" speech: "What's wrong with African-Americans? They've been beaten, murdered and subjugated for hundreds of years, and they're still whining."

We're not talking here about the election of a candidate or a bond measure for the zoo. We're talking about fundamental rights and basic human dignity. It's scary that one of the leading journalists of our region doesn't understand the difference.

Keith Bartholomew

Salt Lake City