| I read Adele Fergusen’s column. Several times. I still haven’t found one redeeming sentence in it. The entire column seems designed to buttress her racist and repugnant views about African-Americans, slavery and religion.
I’ve been a professional journalist and writer for nearly 30 years. You won’t find a greater defender of the First Amendment than I am. But I also believe (as I think Mark Twain did?) that the First Amendment doesn’t require a newspaper to operate like a stagecoach that must let any rider onboard. But if you do, you should be prepared to publish the full range of responses you receive.
If your agreement requires you to run Fergusen’s crap unedited, I suggest you revisit your agreement with Ms. Fergusen or her agent.
Ms. Fergusen’s longevity in the Washington journalism business is no excuse for harboring such repulsive views. Perhaps she is senile — suffering from the same disease as Pat Robertson seems to be afflicted with in recent years. Perhaps she is simply an ugly bigot, as her column suggests. Whatever the reason for her “analysis” about slavery and god’s will, it reflects poorly on your publication and your community.
Karl Bremer
Stillwater, MN | 
