SOUNDING OFF:

On Sunday, you ran the outrageous rantings (“Writer propagates intolerance,” March 2) of a character in this city named Geoff West, a member of the Return to Reason political group and a long-time obstructionist for real improvement in Costa Mesa, who projects his own intolerance onto others.

Instead of addressing issues, West, as usual, engages in personal attacks and name calling.

In his first sentence, West sets the tone as he starts his serial name calling. He calls me a “gadfly.” Well, I suppose in the strict and best sense of the term, that probably applies. After all, I do try to get our officials to make Costa Mesa a nicer city and I may get under their skin a little (I hope so) to get them to bring in change.

In his second paragraph, West writes this nonsense: “For nearly a decade he has been leading the charge to dislocate and cause discomfort to the Latinos among us.”

This is absolutely a false statement. But, this is typical of West. The truth is that for more than a decade I’ve been trying to get the Westside and all of Costa Mesa improved. And, I’ve not been shy about sharing my thoughts on what I think needs to be done. Not one of those thoughts was to dislocate anyone based on race or ethnicity.

Next, West swerves into what appears to be an attention-deficit rant about Mayor Pro Tem Allan Mansoor — a frequent target of West’s venom — and then tries to tie what West thinks are my views into something Mansoor said at a recent City Council meeting. This is an absurd leap and a total non-sequitur.

There is no connection between Mansoor and me. I didn’t even contribute to Mansoor’s election campaigns. Do I think Mansoor is doing a pretty good job? Yup. However, I think he should do much more and not concentrate so much on filling in potholes — as I wrote recently.

Then, West claims I used my influence to attempt to defund charities on the Westside.

Actually, I tried to get charities to stop being magnets for illegal immigrants, and I also pointed out that one charity that was receiving our tax money actually told a young white citizen girl that she was the wrong color and that they only wanted to serve Latinas (including, presumably, illegal immigrant Latinas).

This charity was then investigated by the feds and was forced to sign a pledge that it would no longer discriminate — even against white people (imagine!) — based on race. The charity was also forced to send its employees to tolerance training. I have a copy of the consent decree this charity was forced to sign and even offered it to the Pilot in case the paper wanted to run a story about real intolerance and racial discrimination. The Pilot wasn’t interested.

Generally, I’ve often said we have too high a concentration of charities on the Westside and that this is helping make the area a ghetto as illegal immigrants flock to be near the charities that supply them with free food, free clothes, rent payments, utility bill payments, free medical and dental care, and more. I stand by that statement.

West falsely states that I resigned from the 3R Committee in order not to hamper then-Mayor Mansoor’s reelection campaign. That’s nonsense. I resigned because I had already served on the most important subcommittee of the 3R Committee for the full time allowed by committee rules and couldn’t continue serving on that subcommittee.

And what of this word “intolerance” that West throws around? How’s this for intolerance? For years, I’ve been trying to get the City Council and the 3R Committee to adopt JFK’s dictum: “Simple justice requires that public funds, to which all taxpayers of all races [colors, and national origins] contribute, not be spent in any fashion which encourages, entrenches, subsidizes or results in racial [color or national origin] discrimination.”

West also writes this absurdity: “It’s as though they’ve become willing pawns in Millard’s plan to recreate our city into someplace found in the Deep South during the middle of the last century, when intolerance was a way of life.”

Huh? West must have been on the mother ship for the past decade. Actually, I was born and raised in Boston, and I’ve written about making the area around and including Triangle Square into an art- and intellectual-friendly bohemian area similar to Harvard Square or Greenwich Village.

I’ve also suggested we should try to have a college locate to the Westside. Hardly the Deep South thinking of West’s sterile imagination.

And as far as my essays and books. I’ll say again what I’ve said many times before: I write to be read. Perhaps I should thank West for once again giving some publicity to my writings even though he seems incapable of understanding the thread that runs through most of what I write.

Just to be clear, I write for free-thinking, open minded adults with average or above-average I.Q.’s about the big questions of existence. In doing so, I take great pleasure in tipping over and not genuflecting before sacred cows. And, I don’t usually write about such things in the dry language of the academy but in ways that I hope will be interesting to some readers. And apparently some keep reading my stuff because I’m told that hits on websites that run my stuff go up when my essays appear.

In my view, nothing should be out of bounds for intellectual inquiry in an enlightened society.

I humbly cast my lot with those throughout history — both the big fish and the small ones (such as me) — who believe that finding the truth about existence is a noble quest, even when this goes against the current orthodoxy of any age.

I have no doubt that in an earlier day, had he been alive, West probably would have been in the chorus condemning and saying that Galileo was intolerant for saying the Earth is not the center of the Solar System. (Aww geez, watch as some now say that I’m comparing myself to Galileo. Good grief!)

In every age it seems we have those among us who carry the Dark Ages and intolerance for free inquiry within their souls.

Those who want to read more of my stuff can Google my essays or buy my books at brick and mortar book stores or on Amazon.com.

Or, they can find some of it in Mensa publications. Or, if they want to read about local things they can go to my blog: cmpress.blogspot.com/.

As for West, well, he should probably go read things that he may be able to understand. The library has a large section of picture books that he may find satisfying.

I will continue working as hard as I can to help improve Costa Mesa. Count on it.

 M. H. MILLARD lives in Costa Mesa.