CBS Suspends Andy Rooney

Derogatory remarks against blacks and gays--no doubt about it, Rooney has irreparably crippled his career by passing on a couple of easily deflated stereotypes to the staff of the gay newspaper The Advocate. What Rooney did was both reprehensible and human. Let’s not forget that.

Everybody holds prejudices and stereotypes. Sometimes they’re filtered down through the editorial content of a newspaper. Other times they’re betrayed by our own big mouths, as in Rooney’s case. I guess we all need a reminder, not to hold our tongues, but to keep our minds open. Still, had his comments been directed at Italians or children, he’d be whining his witticisms this Sunday on “60 Minutes.”

RICH CROWTHER

Glendale