Edelstein and ‘Rage’

Here it is 1991 and white paternalism rears its ugly head once again. Rick Edelstein (“Enraged Over ‘Harlem’s’ Portrayal of Blacks,” June 3) is hampered by his inability to see blacks as human beings. He fervently wishes that blacks could get past those terrible crudities that people like him--liberals and conservatives--are so afraid truly represent them.

The fact that Edelstein wasn’t entertained by the many layers of irony in “A Rage in Harlem” attests to his cultural deprivation. The fact that whites believe that every portrayal of a black, or any other nonwhite, is real life attests to naivete and is a problem that whites need to overcome now.

BEVERLY LAFONTAINE

Pasadena