Eyes, ears and history tell us who the haters are

The Aug. 14 letter “Don’t Let Media Decide Who the ‘Haters’ Are” is a classic example of “whataboutism,” an actual term in the study of propaganda techniques.

The writer tries to equate a group of white-supremacist and neo-Nazi demonstrators, most of them from out of town, many of them carrying arms and wearing body armor and helmets, with a group of counterdemonstrators, most unarmed and from the local town.

The out-of-towners were protesting a decision reached by the community and its city council. The counterdemonstrators were defending their town’s decision and protesting the hateful, racial shouts of the right-wingers as they paraded through their town.

The two clashed. The writer asks, “So who were the haters?” and suggests that the media “form[ed] our opinions for us.”

I do not need the media to determine this for me. I have eyes and ears and a sense of history. Nor do I depend on the media to tell me when “the president’s response” is adequate to the times. I have lived during the administrations of 13 former presidents. All would have responded with greater concern and dignity than did the current occupant this weekend. There is no equivalence here. JAMES H. LEWIS

Mt. Lebanon would suggest one that analyzes the mental health of those who are unable to deal with the reality that a maverick businessman carried off one of the greatest upsets in history. Maybe these folks are still dealing with terrible grief, or maybe they are theones who are “mental.” JEAN BRINZER

Penn Hills

On Aug. 11, the PG published a letter from a Barbara Bradley decrying Attorney General Jeff Sessions for going after Chicago on the sanctuary city issue (“Double Standard”). She implies that only the Republicans have forever “bleated” “states rights,” and onlywhen it suited their agenda.

If Ms. Bradley recalls her history of the South in the 1950s, she may recall that the Democrats there claimed “states rights” as they refused to integrate schools. It was a Republican president who overrode their claims and forced compliance with federal law.

Had he not done so, perhaps a large portion of the South’s population would never have had a chance to learn the meaning of the word “bleated.” WILLIAM SPROULE

Squirrel Hill

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into white Americans — thus beginning our long history of white privilege. MICHELE BOSSERS Wilkinsburg

Here is a new strategy for dealing with North Korea. President Donald Trump should ask the leader, “How about a new deal?”

Mr. Trump could say, “We will send to you food for your people and oil, coal and machinery for manufacturing clothes and consumer goods. We will buy products you make. We will help you protect your borders plus other benefits — you stop your rocket and nuclear programs. This a deal that benefits us all. It’s better than a war of destruction, death and ruin. Wouldn’t your people feel better with peace and prosperity? Wouldn’t you feel better not worrying about what your neighborsare plotting against you?”

Peace can be had with a little bit of faithful negotiation. TIMOTHY PREPELKA

Westwood