GROWING DISMAY

To the Editors of the CRIMSON:

I have watched with growing dismay the expressed misunderstanding of my article. I am not retracting any of my views as a result of the responses to my article. It is not necessary. The article was an effort to reflect the views of the typical attitude of Mississippians, not John Rorer's. If I agreed entirely with the average Mississippians, I would not have chosen Harvard for the continuing of my education. Neither will I turn my back on my state nor deny it, for there are many good people in my state who deserve to have their view presented. I have not and will not present my views on the Mississippi situation. I write this letter not to improve my relationships with Harvard students, but to aid the understanding of the statements and frame of reference in my article. My efforts were not directed at persuasion, but rather at the understanding of the Mississippi problem. I feel the COFO workers will agree that a lack of understanding on both sides was a costly handicap.

I did not try to justify nor condemn the Mississippi point of view, but merely present it as I saw it. Some of my more liberal friends in Mississippi agreed that the view was accurately presented, although they disagreed with the Mississippi stand. Neither did I say every statement was true, but rather the way Mississippians regarded them. However, I do not deny them as being false either. If Northern students will try to understand the Mississippi position rather than automatically condemning it because they disagree, then maybe some better relationships between Mississippians and Northerners will be established. I know that this is entirely reciprocal and I am disappointed in Mississippians lack of understanding of Northerners and their attitudes. If any such understanding can be established, the purpose of my writing the article will be fulfilled.

Allow me to reiterate that I am not denying my article or any personal positions, which in fact have not been presented, but I am merely stating the purpose of my article. What you think of me, my article, or Mississippians is irrelevant. It is your effort to understand the Mississippi position that is important. Understanding is not agreement, only tolerance and true liberalism. John Rorer '68