Another reader, writing to the Ventura County Star,  attacks Ruben Navarrette [Send him mail]as a bigot himself, in a particular sense of the word, the sense that, as G. K. Chesterton put it, "Bigotry is an incapacity to conceive seriously the alternative to a proposition." 

Re: Ruben Navarrette’s Feb. 19 column, “Some honesty on immigration”:

"Still, Americans cling to the fantastical claim that they love and appreciate immigrants - as long as those immigrants come legally." Fantastical? As in unhinged from reality?

The above Navarrette quote makes clear his belief that someone against illegal immigration is likely a closet racist. That somehow any rational argument against illegal immigration is really rooted in a suppressed racial hatred.

Tossing an entire group of people into one bucket is Racism 101. We all know and recognize prejudice as the conjoined twin of racism. Navarrette [reeks] of prejudiced thinking toward other groups who do not share his beliefs.

The claim that Americans who have issue with illegal immigration are xenophobes simply shows Navarrette to be someone who does nothing to advance honest and fair discussion - and ultimately, solutions.

Enforcing the laws on the books would go far in pulling the true racists at both ends of the spectrum into the light of day. I think Navarrette has more in common with his column's arch nemesis, Peter Brimelow, than he wants to realize. He declares honesty as his column's domain, but he puts only one foot on its turf.

Phil Groves

[I corrected the writer's inconsistent spelling of "Navarrette", which for the record has two r's and two t's, and changed where he spelled "reeks" phonetically. The Ventura County Star should have done this, but they're probably overworked and underpaid.  ]