I’m writing in response to your "Dear Friends" column of June 12. I found your focus on diversity at a recent Saturday morning gathering of staffers and board members to be troubling. I cannot fathom the weak, irrational deduction that goes, "because the (fill in the blank) is diverse, our staff or our movement or our cause must reflect that diversity to best do its job." To me, this is an expression of racism itself. How can HCN focus its energy on the ethnic identity of its staff and think that such qualification of individuals will further its work in sustaining a healthy environment and a healthy Western society?

Avram Chetron

Berkeley, California