Cole goes out of her way to grandstand

It's a chore, but Althea Cole ought to read her own columns. She might be surprised to learn that protest, despite her assertion that it is not effective, seems to create a great deal of long-lasting discourse and awareness. Each time protesters point out the hatred, cruelty and hypocrisy behind public policy proposals targeted at marginalized Iowans, Cole is there with a 50-inch column decrying such tactics in great detail. She does so again with "A new thirst for activism for acquitted Iowa City protester" (Sunday, March 17).

She also would do well to look in a mirror. She refers to that protester, Tara Dutcher, as "a self-involved performer spellbound by the case's own song and dance, yearning to be the face of a movement for justice and beauty." This, in the same column where Cole goes out of her way to point out that she "respectfully declines" to use Dutcher's preferred pronouns "for reasons of conscience," despite writing around that word choice in a way that would have left few questioning whether it was intentional.

There is no respect there; just a snarky footnote included only as a cruel bit of grandstanding from a self-involved performer who time and again goes out of her way to belittle and demean people who ask only to be treated with the same dignity and respect afforded others.

John Kenyon

Iowa City