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Reading the articles about Steve Sviggum's question at a meeting of the University of Minnesota's Board of Regents ("U regent Sviggum ignites a furor," Oct. 18) and Michael Thom's rant at a New Ulm school board meeting ("Caught in culture wars," Oct. 18) left me feeling heartsick. I genuinely don't get why people like Sviggum and Thom are so fearful of inclusivity — of including nonwhite, nonheterosexual fellow citizens in all aspects of our life. In Sviggum's case, the problem isn't that the University of Minnesota, Morris campus has too many nonwhite students but that the children of his two friends feel uncomfortable being on a campus with a significant nonwhite student body population. The solution isn't refusing admission to nonwhite people in order to make the student population more white. The solution is to address why some students feel like they need to be on a campus that lacks significant diversity.

In Thom's case, his fear of the LGBTQ community apparently is driven both by a misunderstanding of U.S. history and a willful blindness to current events. I can't help but believe that his biases are wrapped in his belief that the U.S. is on the path to socialism and a loss of freedom. Frankly, it's hard to be rational with people like that. Since early in the 20th century, there has been an element vocally warning that the country is on the verge of socialism. Even a nominal grasp of U.S. history shows that isn't true. If anything, the country is now more in the control of corporations and capitalism than it was 50 years ago. Thom's rant against including instruction about sexual preferences other than heterosexuality in the school curriculum isn't rational. It is a fact that humans are not all the same. They differ in height, weight, skin color, hair color, ethnicity and sexual preference, among dozens of differences. Any instruction about the human species would be inadequate if it failed to include all of the differences. That I may be taller than Thom doesn't relegate him to inferior status or mean that instruction about shorter people shouldn't be included in a public education system.

I'm a 75-year-old white guy who just doesn't get why others fear inclusivity.

Fred Morris, Minneapolis

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Patti Lazarus, St. Paul

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I've always been a fan of Socrates, who said to question everything. Why is it now blasphemous? I wasn't a fan of Sviggum's when he was in office, but I certainly feel he has the right to ask the question no matter what it is. Questioning starts dialogue and discussion. Isn't that what we are lacking now? We can't possibly have everyone look "like me" or think "like me," and diversity is our goal, but we can go too far and encourage reverse discrimination, too. Or do you disagree? That's OK — let's start the discussion. I think we've become super sensitive to everything ... including my favorite comic strip, "Dilbert."

Oh, and I'm 80 years old and you can call me "sweetie" ("Don't call me 'sweetie.' Or 'honey.' Or 'dear.' Or 'cute,'" Opinion Exchange, Oct. 14).

Linda Peterson, Plymouth

Sviggum's question regarding "too much diversity" at Morris is not only offensive, it also strikes me as nonsensical. First, we must assume that his diversity is defined as people who are nonwhite and/or not heterosexual. If not, then what? Second, how would "too much" be defined? The opinion of people whose kids don't want to go there? And is there a "right" amount? Finally, what, precisely, would the regents and university do if somehow they determined that, yup, there are too many diverse students going to school there? Love to hear the answer on that one!

If Sviggum had asked these questions, two things might have occurred: He wouldn't have asked the question, or he would have been prepared for the controversy he has caused.

D. Roger Pederson, Minneapolis

A gay teenager is quoted in a news article as saying that some school board candidates "say how wrong it is there are gay people in school ..." ("Caught in culture wars," Oct. 18). Nowhere in the article is there an indication that any school board members think it is wrong for gay students to be in school. If her concern is valid, the article should have discussed which school board candidates have such an appalling view. If no candidates have such a view, the article should have pointed that out. We are left wondering what the facts are.

James Brandt, New Brighton

Daryl Williamson, Eden Prairie

On Oct. 7, Third District Republican candidate Tom Weiler, who says he's "not a professional politician," asked for my vote by introducing his political attitude in true "mom and apple pie" fashion (the words America/American appear 19 times). ("I am running for all Americans," Opinion Exchange.) He claims his primary attributes are that he will represent "all" Minnesotans and Americans, and that he will go to D.C. "to do something." He uses over half his column building up these standard promises but fails to explain this inherent contradiction: He would have to vote against his party to act as he claims, since its members vote in lock step to shoot down every infrastructure, environmental and pro-middle class relief bill introduced — in fact, all sorts of positions known to be popular among middle-class Americans. He then lists only the GOP's reactive laundry list of sound-bite issues.

But here's what's missing: His only mention of women's rights or climate change is that he opposes tax credits for electric vehicles. He ends in the inexplicable promise that hewing to current GOP orthodoxy will somehow "unite Americans." Huh, what?

Compare this to his opponent, the incumbent. Anyone watching knows Rep. Dean Phillips has made many notable efforts at bipartisan bills, and held many town hall face-to-face meetings (i.e., representing all Americans). Why would I vote for a new candidate with vague promises, party orthodoxy and silence on the biggest issues? I can vote for someone who has walked the walk.

David Paulson, Minnetonka