MoveOn’s call for a boycott of Target; a Muslim’s call for tolerance in the U.S.; Ahmad Wali Karzai defends his record

The case for targeting Target

Re “MoveOn misses the mark,” Editorial, Aug. 19

Although The Times takes a firm stand advocating gay marriage, your follow-through is weak. Your words are only words, as welcome they might be.

Merely publishing opinions is not action. Nationwide, homosexuals are discriminated against by religious institutions, schools, universities, in the workplace and in many other settings.

Discrimination is an action, not just talk, and these actions that hurt and diminish gay citizens can be reduced only by opposition in action. To say that boycotting Target Corp., a political act seeking to end brutish inequality and treatment, is not warranted is wrongheaded.

Jerry Lewis

Los Angeles

Your editorial misses a key point about Target’s refusal to take corrective action for its $150,000 donation in support of the anti-gay candidate Tom Emmer. The comparable donations to pro-equality candidates were not sought as punitive damages but rather as a way to restore some parity to the imbalance they created. This was proposed as a way to level the playing field for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people who had previously shown Target a great deal of loyalty.

Marriage equality hangs in the balance for same-sex couples in Minnesota. The state’s next governor is expected to either sign or veto gay marriage legislation. Target’s sizable contribution put a thumb on the scale toward discrimination.

Given that your newspaper’s editorial page supports marriage equality, it follows that you should understand the perils posed by well-funded opponents of rights for LGBT Americans.

An apology from Target might be a nice gesture, but by itself it does nothing to correct the disadvantages created by the contribution in the first place.

Joe Solmonese

Washington

The writer is president of Human Rights Campaign.

Most of my clothes are from Target, but no more. Why in the world would I want to contribute to those who would deny my rights? I will instead use what little leverage I have to support those who support me.

Political actions have consequences.

Rodney Hoffman

Montecito Heights

Re “Raking shadowy Prop. 23 donors over the coals,” Aug. 15

Michael Hiltzik takes a conservative nonprofit political issues organization in Missouri to task for contributing to the Yes on Proposition 23 campaign in California.

His main gripe is that the organization does not disclose the identity of its patrons, saying only that they are not corporate entities.

There is a very good reason to protect the anonymity of donors to conservative causes: The left has a long history of political thuggery when confronting dissenting opinions. Witness the calls for a boycott of Target. Can the brownshirts be far behind?

In the end, Hiltzik is just another left-of-center hack.

W. Sauvageot

Tustin

America’s welcome mat

Re “Faith in America,” Opinion, Aug. 18

I completely relate to Haris Tarin’s story of his father, who chose the United States over other countries to come to.

It’s the story of many Muslim immigrants, including my own father, an Egyptian psychiatrist, who chose the U.S. for its democracy, religious liberties and civil rights. These make the United States unique among nations.

This is precisely why watching our ideals and values being chipped away by hateful, fear-mongering and anti-immigrant individuals and organizations is very disheartening. Pretty soon, if the hatred and lack of civility is left to grow, then the U.S. our parents came to will become no different than the countries they left.

Maha Elgenaidi

San Jose

Dear Mr. Tarin:

You recount how your father, who came to the U.S. from Afghanistan in the 1980s, was received with tolerance, but decry the fact that “things have changed.”

Things indeed have changed. Your father came to the U.S. before the World Trade Center atrocity, and before Muslims all over the world declared the United States an enemy.

You wonder what to tell your children when they ask why fear-mongers rail against the building of mosques in their neighborhoods. I suggest that you tell them that the mayor of New York, a Jew, supports the right of Muslims to build mosques and worship freely, and that the president of the United States supports the right of Muslims to erect a center, even in the shadow of the former World Trade Center.

Tell your children that these are the voices to which they should be listening, and not to those of the fear-mongers.

But tell them also that they have a responsibility to be sensitive to the fears of others, and that if you choose to live in Gotham City, it is wise not to tug on Superman’s cape.

Herbert Weinberg

Los Angeles

I agree with Tarin that the Muslim faith in the U.S. (and in other Western countries) is under attack. This goes against our principles and is very disturbing.

But in our defense, there has been a very muted response from the moderate Muslim community to the vicious attacks by the extreme fundamentalist wing of their religion on the “openness and welcoming nature of the American people.”

If we perceived a loud moderate and open voice from the Muslim community, I am sure there would be strong support for it.

We are hungry to hear a clear message from Islam denouncing the extremists and embracing the open and tolerant attitude that drew Tarin’s parents to this country in the first place.

Susan Clayton

Santa Barbara

A Karzai takes a stand

Re “The curse of Kandahar,” Opinion, July 17

Jennie Green repeats old rumors, leaving readers with a false impression about me.

She omits that while allegations of my involvement in opium trafficking concocted by my political opponents have been investigated, including by two U.S. ambassadors, they have never been substantiated. A recent probe by Afghanistan’s attorney general also concluded that I had been falsely accused of land confiscation.

This past June, I voluntarily cooperated with the House subcommittee on national security and foreign affairs. I work closely with American and coalition forces to fight the Taliban, and I have a standing offer to assist anti-corruption investigators in their efforts to weed out political corruption.

I have survived nine suicide assassination attempts. But my resolve to defeat the Taliban and create a prosperous, free Afghanistan is a key reason voters overwhelmingly reelected me last year to the Kandahar Provincial Council. It is my honor to serve as a public servant, not as the cinematic gangster Green conjured up.

Ahmad Wali Karzai

Kandahar, Afghanistan