REBUTTAL -- Eric Bever

I am surprised that the Pilot would stoop to such a level as evidenced

by the editorial “Don’t dishonor those who fought to end bigotry,” which

ran Jan. 13 concerning Dr. Martin Luther King’s memory.

From my point of view, the Pilot is dishonoring his memory with its

illogical reference to his cause. To claim that Chris Steel’s position on

illegal immigration has anything to do with Dr. King’s struggle is

absurd. Dr. King, as we all know, advocated for civil rights, not for

illegal immigration. According to Webster’s Dictionary, civil rights is

defined as “rights guaranteed to an individual by virtue of citizenship.”

The editorial comes close to slandering Steel with unsubstantiated

conclusions about his motives. It asserts that since he is in favor of

supporting United States immigration law, he must be a Latino-hating

bigot. I have never heard or read anything that would lead me to this

conclusion. Can the Pilot not differentiate between Latinos who are U.S.

citizens and those that are not?

Does the Pilot believe that all Latinos are illegal immigrants or that

all illegal immigrants are Latino?

While the Pilot claims that Chris Steel has done an evil deed by

asserting his opinion that only U.S. citizens should be seated on city

commissions, the Pilot has gone on record supporting those who ignore

laws that were enacted to help ensure the stability of our nation.

Does the Pilot really believe that it is acceptable for immigrants to

enter and remain in the U.S. illegally?

One has to wonder why the Pilot would take this position, as

encouraging undocumented noncitizens to join our city bureaucracy is not

only ludicrous, it is also against the law.

ERIC BEVER

Costa Mesa

* EDITOR’S NOTE: While it’s true Martin Luther King Jr. was a civil

rights advocate, he also spoke out against and protested bigotry and

racism. As for the assertion that we called Steel a “Latino-hating

bigot,” that is incorrect. The editorial stated that we feared Steel’s

action could tap into “an undercurrent of anti-Latino sentiment.”