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In your article on the bigotry at Texaco [SOCIETY, Nov. 18], you quoted political scientist Andrew Hacker as saying bigots would make the kinds of remarks they did "only when they feel very, very sure of their company." It has been my experience that bigots--racial and otherwise--usually assume that people who are in their company feel the same way they do. Men who tell sexist jokes are always incredulous when another man objects; white men who use racial slurs are astounded when another white person objects; and anti-immigration zealots are shocked when a fellow American doesn't share their view. Narrow-minded, inconsiderate and intolerant people seldom consider that their opinions may not be held by all others in their circle. This is all the more likely when the bigot in question is the boss. BOB COLLINS Bedford, Indiana
It seems you have convicted Texaco of widespread discrimination because of a tape recording. Do you think the "black radicals" at Texaco celebrating Kwanzaa would make better managers? Despite the leftist Supreme Court rulings of the late 1960s and '70s, federal laws based on such rulings and the further unconstitutional garbage by leftist federal judges, the 14th Amendment does not, nor was it ever intended to, guarantee integration or jobs for nonwhites. It has been degraded into a perverted system in which minorities demand special recruitment, mentor programs, hiring advantages and even promotions. All problems, including crime and low grades, are easily blamed on the "white male oppressor," not on less ability. The media and government not only accept this concept but foster it. Any company with "too few blacks" is subject to a suit. What about better-qualified whites who are discriminated against daily in the hiring practices of the government and many large corporations?
Who is suing on their behalf? As soon as one black sues, other blacks join in for a piece of the extortion pie. This must be stopped. I now clearly understand why corporations decide to relocate their operations overseas. JOHN MARCONI Akron, Ohio
If Texaco executives are found guilty of felonious destruction of evidence, would not justice be served by sending them to several years of community service in Zaire? JAMES W. NELSON Venice, Florida