Response to "Talk of City Hall"
by Dr. R.Y.

I recently read the spirited defense of Ms. Esther Hwang in Asia Week, the article that criticized her in the San Francisco Chronicle by Matier and Ross, and Ms. Hwang's Website. I would like to mention some of my concerns about the unkind and unsupported assumptions in the Chronicle column. Matier and Ross criticize Ms. Hwang for promoting her modeling/acting career on her website. Websites are simply a standard way to attract business and Ms. Hwang's site is in good taste. It is also very common for actors and actresses to have more than one job. Matier and Ross quote some of Ms. Hwang's acting/modeling qualifications and then ask ... "but can she type?" Evidently they assume that typing is the most important element of her job simply because she is a female working in an office. Matier and Ross try to imply that because Ms. Hwang is good-looking, ambitious and has an acting career she must not be qualified for her job. There seems to be a double standard here since conservative white males (like Ronald Reagan) are not generally criticized for the same attributes. Matier and Ross quote Ms. Hwang's future plans and then attempt to ridicule her for being as "ambitious as her boss Willie Brown." However, there is nothing wrong with Ms. Hwang or Mr Brown being ambitious. If a person is ambitious even in the face of bigotry they should be admired and applauded not ridiculed. Matier and Ross were unfair to Ms. Hwang in their attempt to create a story where there was really nothing to say. I feel they owe Ms. Hwang, and women everywhere, an apology.