Readers React: Coddled college students are in for a rude awakening

To the editor: I commend Brendan O’Neill for his insightful analysis of hypersensitivity on college campuses. (“The trouble with ‘racial awareness’ on campus,” Opinion, Feb. 5)

Unfortunately, liberal university professors’ and administrators’ obsession with promoting their politically correct views does more harm than good for students. They are being taught that American institutions, corporations and society are racist and bigoted and promote inequality and insensitivity.

To be sure, racism and bigotry exist. But the way to improve society is not by cuddling and pandering to students. In so doing, many of these students after graduation are in for a rude awakening when they enter the job market. They will be unfit for most jobs other than government employment or community activism.

Robert Feinberg, Malibu

..

To the editor: Please count me among those who advocate being color-conscious rather than colorblind.

I think colorblindness reflects homogeneous thinking, while color-consciousness reflects a more heterogeneous mind-set. I want people to work toward developing heterogeneous mind-sets, which will enable them to be accepting and valuing of others, including acknowledging that they accept and value the human differences that they represent.

This is not unlike valuing a bouquet of flowers, with each flower having its own qualities that make it beautiful and expressive.

I believe that blindness to any human difference diminishes each person’s unique contributions that they can make to the continuing development of our society. Inclusiveness means that we celebrate human differences and the contributions people make because of them.

Thus, I argue for greater heterogeneity (and openness to growth and change) rather that homogeneity (assimilation and integration), which maintains the status quo.

Karl Strandberg, Long Beach

..

To the editor: O’Neill’s fascination with “color-blindness,” a concept superseded by the advent of integration from Brown vs. Board of Education, is antediluvian.

The peaceful mixing of persons of different cultural backgrounds in school and at work requires interculturalism, or the respectful eagerness to learn from other cultures. That’s why Hawaii has exemplary race relations.

Michael Haas, Los Angeles

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook