John North Editor & Publisher

Mr. Bill Fishburne
Senior editor, Asheville Tribune

Dear Bill:

Last week, the Daily Planet reprinted your July 12 column, taking me to task ó at length ó for a July 3 Planet editorial that criticized the prevailing attitude of speakers at the recent Stop Illlegal Immigration rally in Asheville.

In a two-page spread headlined ìLetter to John North,î you, as master of ceremonies at the rally, took issue with this paperís assessment that some of the speakersí comments were inflammatory and ìborderline racist.î

I interpreted your broadside as mainly arguing that you yourself are not a racist and neither were the speakers at the rally, which was organized by the Action Club, a conservative locally based citizens group.

You castigated the Daily Planet editorial for implying that the rally participants were against all immigration, and contended instead that you and your compadres are deadset only against illegal immigration.

Your overall emphasis was that the illegal immigrants pose a threat ìto American culture,î which you claim is based on ìEnglish common law, belief in Godís holy word, natural law, our Constitution....î

To my great surprise, you conclude that the Daily Planet ìdoes a great disservice to all American citizens in blaming the messenger for bringing forth the message.î

In response, Bill, knowing you as I do, I donít think youríre a racist. I know you to be a highly principled and intelligent advocate for your conservative positions. And I respect you for that.
I also donít think Asheville City Councilman Carl Mumpower or the rallyís other speakers are racist either, despite Mumpowerís assertion that the current wave of illegal immigration constitutes ìcultural terrorism,î as he so bluntly put it.

However, in my experience, such ìmessagesî tend to inflame racist attitudes toward Hispanics ó the vast majority of the illegal immigrants ó and, therefore, it is no stretch to call such rhetoric ìborderline racist.î

While many interesting and provocative comments were made at the rally, and I agree that the issue of illegal immigration is a problem that needs to be addressed, it concerns me that you and your circle seem to be blowing it up into a culture war. Your harsh, dogmatic approach, in itself, limits the options for addressing the problem, especially from a humane and balanced perspective.

The Daily Planet isnít advocating a mindless insistence on politically correct multiculturalism, which you seem to imply. However, we† do contend that Americaís strength has always been in its rugged individualism, free markets and diversity ó and not in the kind of provincialism, isolationism and rigid conformity that you seem to be defending.

Iím troubled by the tenor of your column, which paints issues in strictly black and white terms, leaving no space for gray areas. If one is 100 percent certain about everything, then there seems to be no space for reasoned debate. Therefore, the only point would to shore up oneís own faith.

Bill, the most pressing question I have for you is: What, if anything, are you not sure about?
Both in your column and at the rally, I saw no quest for truth ó just a seeming regurgitation of dubious ìinformationî that may or may not be true, given the speakersí unabashed admiration for the supposed veracity of Fox News, national radio talk shows and certain bloggers. It troubles me that I saw no genuine openness to other possibilites ó or appreciation for other cultures.

It seems hypocritical to insist you are only concerned about illegality, when you turn right around and tout the past glories of an America dominated by white Anglo-Saxon Protestants.

Your true concern seems to be about anyone ó legal or illegal ó who does not fit into your mold.

To me, intelligent discourse and the quest for truth necessitate a willingness to question everything, always ó† especially oneís own certainty of the truth.
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John North, publisher and editor of the Daily Planet, may be contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .