Published today (as promised below)

If you happen to encounter syndicated columnist Cynthia Tucker walking down your street, you can expect to see her frantically looking for racists behind each tree she passes, blithely unaware that she is the one with the problem. I have been reading her columns for months now, but this week, she finally attacked me personally, and I will not let it pass without comment.

In her Nov. 12 column, "Prejudice still causes polarized politics," she focused in on "older white Americans," one of which I am. She concluded her piece with the only bit of actual truth: "The election of a black president didn't exorcise our remaining racial demons." Her thought and behavior are living proof of that, because earlier she insulted me and others like me with a barrage of prejudicial supposition.

She said we are usually victims of Republican politicians pandering to our prejudices, "those hoary stereotypes," and "fears of a browning America. We have "resistence toward diversity" (the glorification of difference at the expense of togetherness), and we "will never be comfortable with the idea of a black president."

Tucker is wrong, and she should keep her misinformed prejudicial opinions to herself.