Exclusion unacceptable practice in America To the first part of Pat Lee’s Oct. 7 letter (Rights should be applied equally): Some unfavorable things said about people are racist, the glaring historical example being the Klan. But this is not true at all with Hispanic Heritage Month, Cinco de Mayo, Black History Month, etc. Those are incredibly harmless and helpful expressions of pride. But in the context of our recent history, it’s likely that a White History Month would be somewhat racist, unfair as that is. Whites as a race have not been discriminated against as have blacks, because recently America has been overwhelmingly white. Black History Month, United Negro College, etc., are benign prideful reactions to past sad discrimination. There is no reason for whites to “speak up for their race” in the context of recent history that is in any way comparable to experiences of blacks and Hispanics. To do so would not on its face be regarded as racist, but in context, it would. Thus we refrain. To the second part of Lee’s letter, let’s be fair. No one should be forced to learn a particular language. But since a substantial part of our population speaks Spanish (unlike Japanese, Chinese, etc.) the institutions of our country dealing with those millions of people should take their needs into account. English is indeed the accepted language here. But because this America, all languages are accepted. We are supposed to be about pluralism, not exclusion. Kirby Rowan Portales