Hi Joan,

While I love the internet for making things like Salon available to me, I do dislike the sort of humorlessness and codemnation that comes from many (and I do realize this is a humorless condemnation of sorts).

However, instead of a diatribe about such things, I want to thank you for the grace, humor and thoughtfulness of your writing. I look to your column for a cool rational voice amidst the clamor and am always rewarded for seeking it there.

Please continue to fight the good fight!!

Aw, come on! I bust my ass trying to get a star and all I get is a bunch of anonymous snipers chewing my ankles, and I've been dry in the Red Star department for over a week!

Now I know this table is rigged. Dang!

Garry Owen, I don't personally give the red stars. I don't give any on my blog; it's way too subjective given the nature of the feedback I get.

I often get red stars, if I post in other letters threads, because I'm saying something that needs to be called out, not merely commenting. In this case, I assume I got one because it's rare that I go into a letters thread in defense of a writer and a story quite that way.

fillups44, thank you!

Or, if you really want to split hairs, the evil you create is proportional to the hatred you ignore. Those of us slightly to the right of Emma Goldman have seen this 'progressive' trend for years and aren't that shocked that the very people who stake their street cred on a more PC form of Jewbashing aka "antizionism" or whatever is the fashionable term now, always claim to be blind and amazed at all the more direct and blunt forms of it they foment as well. Breathe it in Salon, it's the monster you helped create.

I liked the piece though I am not a baseball fan. I thought it was interesting and I enjoyed learning more about Jewish culture. But I didn't think to post a comment. Perhaps there's a way Salon can assess positive but didn't feel like commenting responses...

word! as they say, or used to say, anyway. good piece by you, brilliant support - unwitting or not - from leary and stewart.

Joan,

I would love to know what Jon Stewart and Denis Leary have to say.

I am deaf, and more and more I find myself being directed to access web video - so far, 100% uncaptioned - for information. I don't really understand why TV cc'd programming can't retain its captions for online presentation. I feel, unfortunately, that once again, it is going to take years and years of pleas and letters and letters and letters before this situation will get better - if it ever does. :(

Dear Joan,

I didn't respond to the list because I have no problem with a little ethnic pride here and there and as a Black American I can totally dig where Jonah where was coming from. However, there is something which has been bothering me for quite some time. Other than wire service reports Salon did not publish a single word about the death of James Brown, arguably the most important and influentual musican of the past half century. His impact on popular music was was at least equal to Bergman's on cinema (and he got what, four days of Salon coverage?). So yes despite the fact that 'The List' itself did not bother me it did highlight the fact that no one at Salon has a clue about how to 'take it to the bridge'.

Carter Paige

I thought the idea for the article was refreshing. To write an article about an ethnic group without being racially self-conscious is an achievement today.

Last week I watched an NBC special about the first few years of Saturday Night Live. They replayed a skit in which Steve Martin called Richard Pryor the N-word to his face. I was surprised the censors didn't bleep it, but even more surprised that it ever made it on the air in the first place.

Prior generations had their own problems with racism, but at least they had the decency to let it all come out in the open. In some ways our time is worse -- we won't talk about it, the way Germans won't talk about Nazism. This is a shame. We have lost something.

I'm a half-breed, and while the Jewish half of me enjoys reading about Jews, the Christian half recognizes that Jews do tend to get inordinate cultural coverage, or so it seems.

I know it may seem to non-Jews that Jews have some sort of ill-gotten hegemony on culture, but it's not really ill-gotten anymore than African Americans' domination in basketball. In both cases, the operant generator is "passion." Jews have a passion for entertainment, writing and cultural goings-on. If you're a Jew and not a lawyer, doctor or CPA, you'd better be in one of the creative fields and you'd better be successful or else you will have your mother and aunts criticizing you for the rest of your life with questions like, "So, you're still working at that auto store?"

And the Christian half of me recognizes what the Jewish half knows instinctively: In addition to being inordinately bright, Jews are funny, insightful and creative. Not all of them, mind you. You'll find an occasional Jew fetching sparkplugs behind the auto parts store counter. And every once in a while one shows up in the NBA or the World Series. And then the Christian half stands by and watches the Jewish half kvell.

In all seriousness, you'd have done well to have someone write about the best Muslim ballplayers, too. It would be every bit as interesting and topical--even more so, in my opinion. I think the only reason this wouldn't occur to you is that Jews are more visible and familiar to you, especially in the media universe. But that's not much of an excuse for the neglect of other religious minorities.

There's a lot of celebration of Jewishness in the media these days, and that's a wonderful thing. But Muslims are no less a part of America, and they're pretty desperately in need of some positive coverage, which is something I'd think you'd be sensitive to. And the defense of simply asking "Why can't we just innocently celebrate this one group?" is awfully reminiscent of how people defended the celebration of WASP culture for so many years while they ignored Jews.