This editorial did not reflect values we hold dear
Since 1927, our family has been involved with the PostGazette, shaped primarily by the nearly six decades of William Block Sr.’s socially conscious leadership. Some of us knew him as “Dad,” some “Grandpa,” and some “Bill,” but we all knew him as a man whose dedication to excellence and generosity infused the newsroom culture at the paper. He was an advocate for civil rights and freedom of the press. He was both a publisher who listened to his editors and a constant — and accessible — presence. The editorial “Reason as Racism,” published on Martin Luther King Day, printed without the Post-Gazette editorial board’s consensus, and attempting to justify blatant racism, is a violation of that legacy.
We are so grateful that Bill never had to read it. It goes against everything he worked for and valued. Our family strives to continue embodying his values of social justice, respect and equality in our communities.
As shareholders and family members of the family that operates this newspaper, we are very mindful that Dr. King himself said, “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” We do not condone the sentiments expressed in the piece. We do not condone the whitewashing of racism, nor the normalization of it. We cannot remain silent and by implication approve of the use of the Post-Gazette to provide cover for racism. Max Ayars (Fort Collins, Colo.), Barbara Block (Squirrel Hill), Diana Block (Maumee, Ohio), Donald Block (Fox Chapel), Dr. Katherine Block (Minneapolis, Minn.), Laura Block (Chicago, Ill.), Mary A. Block (Fox Chapel), Benjamin Burney (Los Angeles, Calif.), Emily Escalante (Highland Park), Francisco Escalante (Highland Park), Karen Johnese (Fort Collins, Colo.), Christopher B. Kiehl (Maumee, Ohio), Erin Love (Highland Park), Dr. Vicente Undurraga Perl (Minneapolis, Minn.), Nancy Block Reid (Seattle, Wash.) and William Reid (Seattle, Wash.) thousands of our college-educated young people from finding employment. Merit-based immigration isn’t about improving our country. It’s about padding the bottom line for business.
If you truly want to put “America first” you first have to stop falling for this sham.
I am not anti-immigration. My grandparents were immigrants. Thankfully, back then, America’s doors were open to people of all walks of life. No one prejudged their ability to contribute. I oppose this “merit system” because it places our own college-educated youths at a disadvantage. Fear not, the truly gifted have always been welcome and will never have any trouble getting here. For once, let’s put our own kids first. THOMAS KELLY
North Side
Many letters in the Jan. 17 Post-Gazette seem to have missed the point of the Post-Gazette’s Jan. 15 editorial “Reason as Racism.”
The shared anti-racism, anti-s#*%hole sentiment is important to express. On the other hand (and in light of Martin Luther King’s interest in understanding his opposition), the editorial principally urged that real issues not be obscured. It clarified that the causes and complexities of a failed state cannot be neatly abbreviated in a disgraceful
We welcome your opinion
comment. And we may have to rise above the rhetoric to address wages and job prospects for underprivileged minorities. It’s time for a national conversation on the level of competition in their labor pool through chain migration.
Would Martin Luther King allow a dishonorable slur to distract us from providing help where help is needed? JOHN F. ROHE
Downtown