I wish to respond to the accusations of Edward Robinson (The Mail, 10/15) regarding the article “Late-Night Rights” (10/8). I am deeply saddened that Robinson has respect for a law that is unfairly applied to African-Americans. I, like Robinson, am a self-identified black man, and I find myself seeing something close to a vicious cycle. As he stated, his parents had a curfew for him, and that automatically means that teenagers today should have a curfew. What if his parents had beaten him every other night with a baseball bat?

I find it almost hilarious that Robinson agrees with the curfew law, yet in his own words says that “[curfews are] the responsibility of the parent.” If a curfew is the responsibility of the parent, why should the government take that responsibility away from the parent? His argument is full of contradictions and half-truths. (Juvenile crime is down now from where it was, say, four years ago.) Doesn’t he have something better to do with his time than go on a personal vendetta against a 15-year-old?

We all know that Washington is segregated, so if I hold a “demonstration” in a “white” area such as Dupont Circle NW, then I am simply a white boy bitching. If I take Robinson’s suggestion and move the protest to Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE, I’ll be blasted by people like Robinson for being a displaced white boy. If there’s a place in Washington with perfect racial harmony, do let me know, because I’ve been searching for one for quite some time.

What I find the most interesting about Robinson’s letter is that he finds it necessary to degrade me as an uneducated overachiever. Let me tell you, for someone of his maturity to sink to the childish level of personal attacks further makes me believe that I have a worthwhile cause. Personally attacking someone while dealing with political issues is a sure sign of personal insecurity. Anyone who believes the African-American community has a trademark on the term “civil rights” is more close-minded than the teenagers Robinson feels vindicated in repressing.

Mr. Robinson, I urge you to spend your precious time as a case manager doing better things than insulting people who are smarter than you. I’m trying to protect innocent people from being arrested. You seem to disagree.

Arlington, Va.