WORKING CRASS

Kent Black should be ashamed of himself. In an otherwise informative essay on the life and work of John Sayles (“A Man and His Myth,” Feb. 5) appears the following observation about the talented director: Sayles, Black comments, is “a man whose intelligence and education disqualifies him from the working class.”

Let me see if I can follow what passes for Black’s logic: Is he saying that working-class people are not intelligent? Or that working-class people are by definition not educated?

It’s hard to believe that a statement that reveals such an astounding depth of ignorance of American social reality would not be caught by Calendar’s editors.

It is all the more painful to read such a comment given the subject matter of the piece: the films of John Sayles. Sayles’ body of work shows a keen understanding of the rich cultural, political and, yes, intellectual lives of working-class Americans. I trust that he will cringe when he comes across Black’s sycophantic attempt at flattery.

I would advise Black to take a labor history class. He’s welcome to attend the one I teach, which is designed for the people he has disqualified as being intelligent.

Enrich your life, Mr. Black.Give up writing about movies for a time. Get out and live. When you come back to your chosen profession, you might even be cured of your class condescension.

KELLY CANDAELE

Los Angeles

Candaele, a writer and labor historian at Los Angeles Trade Tech Labor Center, was a union organizer for 10 years.