The Cincinnati Enquirer |
Editorial Page
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Oct. 28, 1998 |
| I am not sure if I am more angry at syndicated columnist Philip Terzian for his insensitive, illogical and ignorant editorial about Ellen DeGeneres and hate crime legislation "'Ellen' is not funny anymore" [Oct. 22] or at The Cincinnati Enquirer for picking the piece off of the wires and printing it.
Mr. Terzian misses the boat in a number of areas. First, nobody is saying that federal or state hate crimes will eliminate violence directed a people based on a particular characteristic. It is only one component of many that will reduce such incidents. It's curious that a journalist does not realize the power in a written message such as a piece of legislation. Second, his argument that hate crime laws will "presume that (all people's) actions are grounded in bias" is the unfounded paranoia of a |
white, Christian, middle-class, straight man. These laws are designed to protect and enable people who have faced oppression in our communities, not target people in the majority like you and me.
Third, I don't think actress Ellen DeGeneres was trying to be funny by attending a rally in Washington, D.C. It seems, unlike you, she was speaking out against a problem in our society. And I don't hear anyone saying that "bias and bigotry may be cured by legislation." They're saying that legislation can help. More striking than Ellen's apparent rage is your inability to recognize that we live amongst a lot of intolerance. Your editorial is evidence of that fact.
Robert Abowitz, Oxford
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