Kathleen Honeycutt
* In response to “Foot-in-Mouth Disease (Cont.),” editorial, July 10:
Assemblywoman Kathleen M. Honeycutt (R-Hesperia) defended herself for making a bigoted statement by the usual illogical method: Essentially, “Some of my best friends are Jews” (doctors, dentists, childhood playmates, whatever).
Some of her defenders chose another old reliable: “We all make ‘slips of the tongue.’ ” True, but as Freud taught us, those “slips” come from deeper in the unconscious mind and tend to reveal the speaker’s honest feelings and attitudes.
Bigoted insults, intended or “accidental,” are made by bigots.
HAROLD R. SCHUMAN
Los Angeles
*
It is distressing to read about the ignorance and insensitivity of elected officials like Assemblywoman Honeycutt and Assemblyman Pete Knight (R-Palmdale) (who circulated a racist poem about Latino illegal immigrants).
I strongly suggest that these individuals, and others with similar attitudes, spend a few hours at the Museum of Tolerance and learn what ignorance, especially in a political arena, can lead to.
RONA SUBOTNIK
La Jolla
*
Your article about Assemblywoman Honeycutt using a politically incorrect term exposed an action far more serious than Honeycutt’s gaffe.
The legislators’ attempt to regulate business transactions between general contractors and their subcontractors is an example of government mischief that will further tarnish the allure of doing business in California.
B. DONALD PEDERSEN
Anaheim
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