Harris’ Columns

* I am relieved to see Ron Harris in print again. I value his insightful assessments of some of the dilemmas that confront us. For example, his response to the verdicts in the trial of the police officers in the Rodney King beating case brought me to tears. His more recent columns, “A Black and White Answer to Question of Blame” (Aug. 7) and “The Hidden Faces of Racism” (Aug. 13), are a welcome addition to The Times because of his honest attempt to discuss the complexities of race, class and ethnicity in contemporary America.

ARTHE A. ANTHONY

Pasadena

* It is ironic that Ron Harris’ column on the insidious nature of bias is guilty of the same, only against women. He describes a middle-class couple who seemed normal but were really neo-Nazis and from here bemoans hidden racists who “sport tailored suits, drive luxury cars . . . live in ‘lovely’ homes, have ‘lovely’ wives. . . .” Wait! Harris went from the specific case of a guilty couple to the general of men only. It is this assumption that only men have and act on strong opinions and that their wives are accouterments like cars or houses that is insidious sexism. Can you imagine reading about a woman who “seemed to have everything, a nice home, an expensive car, an attractive husband”?

KATIE DAVIS

Summerland