Thinking Right Wrongly

I was infuriated by Howard Rosenberg’s analogy between TV’s storehouse of old racist movies and a man’s closet filled with dresses (“Bigotry on TV: The Stain Still Lingers” Dec. 16). Rosenberg’s ill-chosen simile belies the logic of bigotry itself: Even in a world “troubled” by the demands of political correctness, we desperately seek figurative scapegoats. Rosenberg may be horrified by a racist movie from 1944, but he seems content to promote heterosexist stereotypes in 1992. He’s right . . . the stain still lingers.

JOHANNA BLAKLEY

Santa Barbara