Editor:

This is in response to Paul Smith's letter of Jan. 26.

Congressman Jim Kolbe advertised his MLK Day town hall meeting as an opportunity for the public to voice concerns about "ethnic relations, racial tolerance and ways in which we can better appreciate the diverse cultures upon which America was made."

What I found was a staged dog-and-pony show. Kolbe took the role of moderator, but did not take a question from the public until 15 minutes before the event was scheduled to end! Even at that point, Kolbe refused to answer questions about his involvement in racial issues, and pretended to be offended by criticisms from the audience.

If Mr. Smith thinks asking a politician questions at a town hall meeting is "some of the most outrageous and offensive behavior (he) has ever witnessed," perhaps he should move to a country which does not purport to be a democracy.

As human beings, we seldom recognize racist aspects of our own behavior - someone else usually has to point them out to us. If we genuinely aspire to be a society in which racial prejudices do not turn us against our brothers and sisters, we must listen to those who criticize us, and we must be prepared to examine the effects of our own actions.

We cannot combat racism if we believe we are "above all that." Kolbe's response is a perfect example of this: By holding a "town hall" on racism, he clearly wanted "diversity" brownie points, yet he refuses to face his constituents, and he continues to refuse to examine the consequences of his own actions.

For God's sake, this is the man who chose to be Pete Wilson's Arizona campaign manager. Wilson is legendary for anti-Hispanic policies. As Dr. King described hate-mongering politicians in the 1960s, Wilson has "fed his constituents on the stale bread of hatred and the spoiled meat of racism." And it was Kolbe who replaced a congressional plan for HIV prevention work on Indian reservations with a provision to exempt the Mt. Graham telescope project from cultural protection laws.

As a member of the Tucson Human Rights Commission said on his way out the door, "Martin Luther King would be turning over in his grave if he knew Jim Kolbe was pimping his holiday like this."

Gita Bodner
ecology and evolution graduate student