I have enjoyed reading Mike Smedley’s Action Line columns for years.
I live in New Mexico, near the state line, and I enjoy the symbiotic relationship between northern New Mexico and Southwest Colorado that makes it possible to eat in innumerable great restaurants one day and shop at the mall the next.
I was slightly taken aback by the comments in Smedley’s column that insinuated that we were to be tolerated as outsiders in the area, but thought he had just misspoken, as a person who seems to write off the cuff.
If you investigated and discovered that the comments came from a deep-seated lack of respect for his audience, or indicated a last straw of unacceptable behavior or poor performance, his decision to leave is fine. If not, however, the apology was, or should have been, enough.
You allowed people to complain, as all have the right to do, and he apologized, which was appropriate. That is the nature of journalism and free speech, is it not?
Cynthia SingletonAztec
