A Cautious Thank You

I'm not trying to become a regular feature here, but I want to extend to the Observer, firstly, a heartfelt thank you for printing my letter in the last issue ("Anti-Semitism or Lack of Proofreading", LO, Vol. 7, Issue 2, January 25, 2011), and for your thoughtful and gracious response to my mother's and my concerns over any possible shades of ethnocentricity in the story in the previous issue about Lakewood's Gentile community, by a local writer.

All the same, I'll have to keep this generous publication of my letter to myself, instead of sharing it with my poor mother, for fear she may, once again, get the wrong idea about Lakewood, when she sees that my letter was printed immediately below an article which, by all first appearances, seems to celebrate the practice of human trafficking ("Human Trafficking Month", LO, Vol.7, Issue 2, p16).

Once the article is read, of course, one realizes all too quickly that it's about the PREVENTION of human trafficking, not a bizarre and cruel celebration of this crime against humanity. This is understood. But at first glance, a headline reading, simply, as it does, "HUMAN TRAFFICKING MONTH" could be alarming to someone already traumatized with unnecessary fears about Lakewood's general good will. She might think the Observer was "sending me a message," though I personally think no such thing.

This is unfortunate, to say the least, as she would have quite enjoyed seeing our little story in print.

Thank you, Observer!

Aaron Edelstein

Read More on Letters To The Editor
Volume 7, Issue 3, Posted 4:07 PM, 02.08.2011