A recent letter stated that certain kinds of dark immigrants should not be welcome here because they live by different standards than our white society pretends to follow. Reference was made to genital mutilation of girls (while we superior whites only mutilate the genitals of boys), to child abuse and to sweatshop labor.

From a society where child abuse is rampant and that gorges itself on cheap goods made in sweatshops around the world, that is strange criticism.

If it makes any sense for those who came earlier to decide who can come later, we might ask Native Americans to decide whether we white folks should be allowed to stay here, based on our behavior and values. We can hope they will not judge us too harshly for our nothing-is-sacred despoiling of the environment, for our greedy materialism, and for the smug self-satisfaction some of us display.

Peter Rees

Trenton