Readers write
Allegations of racism deserve to be heard
AJC Columnist Bill Torpy’s Oct. 11 “Virtue signaling, a social media pile-on and a canceling in Decatur” on Kiss and Tale Bookshop reduces serious accusations to “canceling” and “social media mob” behavior. These choices erode the AJC’s credibility and silence the community it claims to serve.
Atlanta’s Black community built this city and shaped its history, from civil rights leaders to historically Black colleges and universities to countless cultural contributions. Dismissing Black voices reporting harm ignores their resilience and achievements.
When multiple Black women report discrimination by a local business, their concerns demand respect — not dismissal or reframing as performance. Singling out a Black woman for “tossing a grenade” by sharing her experience, then calling deserved outrage “virtue signaling,” diminishes Black voices and perpetuates harmful stereotypes.
Describing racism as a “scarlet letter,” implying that society is wrong to judge it, distorts what racism actually is: a hateful ideology declaring some people worth less simply for their race or skin color. Racism and the permission structures behind it cannot be reduced to mere “opinion.”
The argument that discrimination cannot occur because a business is located in Decatur and claims to be inclusive is absurd. Supporting LGBTQ+ identities does not preclude the possibility of racism, nor do multicultural marketing attempts eliminate the risk of discrimination against any person of color.
The AJC must decide: amplify voices facing discrimination or protect businesses by painting accusers as an angry mob. Publications have consequences, and Atlanta deserves journalism that treats Black voices with seriousness and respect.
JAZMIN MENDEZ, CONYERS
How about sharing profits with each data breach?
When Georgia Power, a profitable public utility monopoly, fails to protect its customers’ personally identifiable data, a year of credit monitoring is an inadequate response. What chance do I have against predators, scammers and robocallers who now have my phone number and email address?
Georgia Power has resources and security teams, but their response is to put me in charge of my own protection: a year of credit monitoring and identity theft help with Equifax, a company that also had a catastrophic data breach. It seems a better gesture would be to share a portion of that $2.85 billion in profit with impacted customers for the aggravation their failure causes.
JAY KIEVE, DECATUR