Letters: ‘Is Your Baby Racist?’

We need to teach respect for one another rather than try to "erase" our racism because, the fact is, you cannot erase it.
Frosty Wooldridge, Golden, Colo.

Instead of always telling our children that we are all equal and the same, we should tell them that we are all different. Saying we're the same naturally makes them look for differences. Conversely, saying we're all different (in appearance, cultures, etc.) makes them instinctively look for ways we're alike.
Erica L. Scott, Binghamton, N.Y.

Humans have the tendency to categorize hard-wired into our brains. Young children aren't racist per se. The natural tendency of children is to separate themselves into groups based on whatever observable criterion they can find—gender, shirt color, or race—and divide into "us" and "them." Any solution to racial issues must take into account this fundamental aspect of human psychology.
Todd Goglia, Seattle, Wash.

Why promulgate the theory of infantile discrimination? Attitudes are learned, not genetic. The questions posed to 5-year-olds by Birgitte Vittrup are self-fulfilling: they compel respondents to recognize racial differences, and they're capable of seeding discriminatory perceptions. Anyone who has raised children has witnessed them fearing strangers, not just new faces who are racially diverse. They may be the child's own flesh and blood, perhaps those with whom he or she is unaccustomed (such as, say, grandparents), while those with more familiarity enjoy the benefit of the doubt. Ideally most children will get over their errant judgment. For the ones who don't, Vittrup needs to question the parents.
Richard Harris, Chicago, Ill.

'AN IVY LEAGUE HUEY LONG'
As Huey Long's great-granddaughter, I was amused by George Will's column accusing the president of demagoguery (Sept. 7). It's a curious comparison considering that Long succeeded in fulfilling all of his progressive campaign promises, including expanding health care. Louisiana in the 1920s ranked at the bottom of every measure of living quality until Governor Long delivered massive change.
Audra Snider, Rockville, Md.

'ATTACK! THE TRUTH ABOUT OBAMACARE'
I disagree with the statement contained in your story (Aug. 24 & 31) that "no illegals will be covered" by the House health-care bill. In fact, a recent report by the non-partisan Congressional Research Service validates my concern that three loopholes exist. First, despite language prohibiting illegal-immigrant eligibility for certain benefits, H.R. 3200 has no eligibility-verification mechanism. Democrats killed amendments in two congressional committees to fix this, including amendments that would use the same verification procedure that is already used for other federal entitlement programs. Second, the bill contains no provisions preventing illegal immigrants from participating in the Health Insurance Exchange, including a government-run "public plan." And third, the bill does not address how families that include illegal immigrants and legal immigrants or citizens will be handled. A commissioner-to-be-named-at-a-later-date could decide that illegal immigrants may be covered if another family member is eligible. Your readers deserve the facts about these significant loopholes.
Rep. Lamar Smith, Republican of Texas, ranking member, house Judiciary Committee, Washington, D.C.