Democrats and Jesse Jackson

Michael Harrington makes some very valid points (Opinion, March 27).

He observes that Jackson is still being treated as a second-class candidate by many political professionals, but also recognizes that Jackson is the only candidate with a specific program against drugs, mobilization of pension funds and savings for full employment and serious international economic policies. Harrington also states that Jackson is building an interracial coalition. My ancestors were slaves. My German Jewish background made me experience a transformation of the prejudices in Germany under Hitler. When I travel in Germany where my ancestors have lived for centuries, I am now treated with respect and deference by the majority of the German people.

The time has come for the black people in this country to receive similar treatment after all the suffering they have experienced. This time is approaching. Harrington states that perhaps it may not happen in 1988, but that at worst Jackson “may be one presidential campaign away from breaking down the deepest political prejudice in America.” It seems to me that humanity is continuing to make progress in breaking down prejudices.

ROBERT W. RHEE

Malibu