READERS WRITE: APR. 22

Left’s gender-neutral society will be weird

I’m getting a glimpse of what a gender-neutral society is going to look like. Spurred on by leftist social scientists and a troop of useful idiots (of both sexes), that society is beginning to unfold. As I recently read an article, I came across the term “theybies.” It means babies devoid of any gender stereotyping to avoid those nasty inferences gender identification can bring (though not necessarily years of future psychotherapy). I guess the age-old first question when learning about a baby’s birth will no longer be, “Is it a boy or a girl?” Don’t be surprised by the answer: “It is a they.” I can see how things are going to much simpler going forward.

GREGORY MARSHALL, MARIETTA

Dems wrong to support Delta tax break

Thanks for printing yet another story about how Democrats are demonstrating their progressive bona fides by supporting tax breaks for Delta (“Delta flap moves execs to donate to Ga. Democrats,” April 11). Progressives, including elected Democrats, Jay Bookman, Mike Luckovich and others have been outspoken in their support for the continuation of $40 million in assistance to one of America’s most successful corporations. As someone old enough to soon qualify for Social Security, I remember when being a progressive meant assisting needy citizens rather than subsidizing fabulously wealthy corporations. Don’t get me wrong – I think the world of Delta and I generally am happy to pay their fares, even though they tend to be high. But I still wish that the Democratic Party would focus less on assisting corporations, promoting trade deals, and waging perpetual war and instead confront the powerful on behalf of those who truly need assistance.

HANS KLEIN, ATLANTA

Society mustn’t give up on Rev. King’s dream, ideals

Fifty years ago, in a sermon given four days before he was assassinated, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. stated that “racism is a way of life for the vast majority of white Americans,” and that “the disease of racism permeates and poisons a whole body politic.” These words ring true today. Almost 150 years after the 15th Amendment, white politicians continue to devise ingenious new ways to deny African-Americans the right to vote. Cops continue to gun down unarmed young black men with impunity. And 11 a.m. Sunday is still the most segregated hour in America. We turned our back on civil rights once, when we abandoned Reconstruction. It took a century to regain lost ground. If we give up on our ideals a second time, we will be murdering Martin Luther King Jr. all over again. To remain silent in the face of injustice is to sell our country short and desecrate our flag.

STEVE BABB, LAWRENCEVILLE

Pitts forgets MLK’s dream covers conservatives too

I am always amazed by the sheer volume of invective and defamation present in Leonard Pitts’ columns. His recent screed, “Racism killed King” (Opinion, April 8), paints a thoroughly dystopian view of America in which virtually nothing has improved since the days of Jim Crow. It’s just “a little less awful,” he says. He smears the police as a group for “getting away with murder.” And he really gets mad that Glenn Beck, a conservative, “claimed the mantle of King a few years ago.” Well, I was at that rally, and its purpose was to honor Dr. King’s life and legacy. What really enrages Mr. Pitts is that people who are not like him also share and honor Dr. King’s legacy. He has forgotten that King’s message was largely that civil rights are universal and when they are denied to one, they are denied to us all. That means all races, the police, conservatives on college campuses and maybe a certain Republican president.

JAY POLIS, FAYETTEVILLE