some responses to the letter on Globe site:
>>Why wouldn’t it be? Massachusetts is 83% white.
<<The solution would be for people of color to just show up. It’s free, it’s easy to get to, and one doesn’t need an invitation. No one or nothing is stopping them from being there.
—Mary Lou,
Surely, you jest.
How you feel that counting ‘white faces’ on a television broadcast (at best an exercise in subjective bean counting) allows you to make some sort of generalization about the inclusiveness of our society, or the nature of the crowd, eludes me. Are you aware cameras are set up to get the best shots of any given event and not for a shallow survey the visually apparent racial makeup of those who attend?
At the very least, you should be reminded that Martin Luther King hoped his children would “…not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character”, and counting ‘white’ (or any color) noses in a crowd is in conflict with his very fine ideal.
more:
—I’m offended that your first response is to accuse your fellow Bostonians of racism. You didn’t have to say the word...it’s pretty obvious that’s what you’re telling us by assuming people of color “didn’t feel welcome.”
&&—How come you are so stuck on race? You need to get past it. Based on your name and your location (Newton), it doesn’t surprise me that you are probably a white person that feels guilty for being white. Why did you assume people of color don’t feel welcome? You’re being absolutely ridiculous and I truly feel sorry for you.
—People in America are free to attend or not attend public events as they wish. (I didn’t go either). It’s called Freedom. It’s a beautiful thing.
00This moonbat has some serious issues. Imagine how stupid one has to be to watch a celebration of America’s birthday and come up with this? I’m sure this dingbat moonbat lives in a very diverse neighborhood.
—I found Ms. Eshelman’s Facebook™ Page, and looked at her friends list. I searched in vain for more than a few faces in the list that weren’t Caucasian, and couldn’t imagine what people of color must have thought to see that huge group of white people..... I’m not sure what the reason is behind this lack of participation of people of color in her life. I would suspect that they don’t feel welcome, and I would be interested to know why, and what can be done about that.