Response to Beating of Black Teen Was Callous

Re “4 White Youths Held in Black Teen’s Beating,” Dec. 8: I found Simi Valley Councilwoman Barbara Williamson’s response to the alleged hate crime in her city severely insufficient and offensive. Rather than seeing the assault in which four white youth reportedly brutally attacked a young African American as an act of racial violence, she claimed that it was caused by a bunch of kids who “had too much time on their hands.” She recommends a “good spanking” by their parents. This was a serious crime -- in terms of its physical violence and alleged racial motivation. The casual attitude toward racism and racially motivated violence will not help the community of Simi Valley. As a daughter whose father was a hate-crime victim at the hands of his white co-workers many years ago, I feel for the victim, who will always live with that hateful memory and fear.

Jung Hee Choi

Los Angeles