regarding shelby steele<u+2019>s <u+201c> trump, clinton and the culture of deference <u+201d> (op-ed, nov. 8): when the democrats paint women, blacks, muslims, homosexuals, immigrants (legal and illegal) and the transgendered as victims, then a victimizer is required. by the process of elimination, only middle-aged white males are left to fulfill the role of victimizer. by assigning this label to white men, the democrats are engaging in the exact behavior they are rallying against<u+2014>they are judging us by our looks/race/class. that is unless we publicly declare allegiance to their cause and pay deference to everyone else. we started to play along years ago<u+2014>but we are exhausted as the list grows! the problem with this is that most white males are decent people. just like most women, blacks, muslims, homosexuals, immigrants (legal and illegal) and transgenders<u+2014>most white men work hard, respect other people, pay taxes, love their family, love their country and generally try to do the right thing. and just like most in the groups mentioned, we want to be left alone, not be unduly judged. we want to go about our lives without being assigned the burdens of past injustices. we are tired of being burdened as the class of victimizers. white men are good, decent people in the same ratio as women, blacks, muslims, homosexuals, immigrants (legal and illegal) and the transgendered. as a class we are innocent of this title. it should be no wonder that we speak out with a loud voice when we finally find a legitimate outlet. robert p. burke ridgefield, conn. no, mr. steele, it is not <u+201c>deference<u+201d> that motivates many of us who supported hillary clinton and opposed donald trump. it is respect for our fellow human beings and a sense of responsibility for civility, democracy and a civilized society. we are responsible for ourselves, but also for each other, our community and our nation. god bless america. betsy darken chattanooga, tenn.
replace a culture of <u+2018>deference<u+2019> with respect - wsj
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