Opinion: Who’s out hiking the backcountry?

To the editor: Regarding the opinion piece on backcountry diversity, may I offer a foreign-born Latino’s observation: Please don’t be upset (or feel guilty) on my account that you don’t see “me” in the backcountry.

( “Diversity lacks far behind on backcountry trails,” Opinion, Aug. 28)

Culturally, the “outdoors” for many immigrants (as well as many of my native U.S. friends) is the local park or the beach — not everyone has great traditions or interest in backpacking in the Sierras or even in overnight camping.

My experience in my native land was 100% urban, and when we moved to the U.S., my dad, like countless others before him, was busy with two full-time jobs — so hiking on a weekend was not in the cards.

And please do not underestimate the impact of time or resources for a trip to the backcountry — which is typically not for just a weekend. The associated travel and equipment expense is beyond most modest families’ budgets.

Leonardo Costantino, Los Angeles

::

To the editor: This article did an excellent job of highlighting a commonly held misconception that “diversity” is a rainbow that includes every hue but white. This mind-set interprets all differences of opinion and unwelcome comments, including displays of the Confederate flag, as inherently racist.

This parochial worldview is especially prevalent among those who do not realize that the majority of Americans are whites living in small- to medium-size communities, rather than non-whites in large urban areas. Put differently, life in Los Angeles and other big cities is not representative of mainstream America.

In fact, 77% of Americans identify as white, according to U.S. Census data from 2015. So, demographic reality will continue to cause discomfort for some non-whites, as long as diversity is defined in terms of skin color and ethnicity, rather than the thoughts, character and behavior of individuals.

David Goode, Manhattan Beach

::

To the editor: The epiphany that Nina Revoyr had last month on her backpacking trip in the Sierra Nevada is nothing new.

I have not backpacked in some 25 years, but I never saw a fellow backpacker who was a person of color, except myself and fellow Asians (I am Japanese).

I taught college biology for some 40 years, and led numerous field courses, in which there were usually few minorities.

I found that to many people, even Griffith Park was a “wilderness.” A place without a McDonald’s (and now without cellphone service) is a wilderness.

All of this is gradually changing with the programs that the author mentions. Change is coming but slowly.

Walter H. Sakai, Thousand Oaks

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook