Community Commentary:

It’s time for moderate voices of reason within the Glendale Armenian-American community to intervene in the ongoing vendetta against Dan Kimber. The failure of credible and influential voices such as Larry Zarian, Patrick Azadian, church leaders and current and former members of the Glendale City Council to speak out concerning the overreaction of members of their community, is a sad commentary.

Kimber’s opinion with respect to non-assimilation has resulted in a vindictive effort to libel him and attack his right to teach, write and freely express his point of view. The actions of those attacking him ignore two of the most respected attributes of a democratic society: the free expression of one’s opinion in the press, and the sanctity of the classroom as a forum for exchanging ideas.

Those seeking to punish Kimber are attempting to silence him by threatening his job as an educator and columnist. By doing so, they have ignored both the letter and the spirit of the Constitution. Their efforts to denigrate his character and distort his point of view by characterizing it as ethnic prejudice are beyond vicious.

Let’s examine the original column, which prompted the outcry (“Greet melting pot with open arms,” April 17). In his column, Kimber merely repeated the Armenian Youth Federation’s stated reason for being; specifically, the conscious discouragement of assimilation by Armenian youth into the broader culture. This goal of the organization has not, to the best of my knowledge, been disputed.

In addition, he referred to several instances in which he had been approached by young Armenian American students who were distraught because they had been forbidden by their parents to associate with their non-Armenian peers. His belief that a conscious effort to avoid assimilation into the broader culture could have negative effects on children and the society at large is not a very controversial one. It is, I dare say, a common point of view, held by most native and naturalized American citizens striving to belong, including, I would suspect, many concerned members of the Glendale Armenian community.

Kimber’s perspective is in no way comparable to the clumsy and totally insensitive effort at humor by radio talk show host Bill Handel.