Following are two responses to Castleman's article written by readers of Mother Jones. After reading both responses, answer the following questions.

1. Anyone seeking evidence of the collapse of liberalism need look no further than Michael Castleman's essay ("Opportunity Knocks," May/June). Castleman, along with a large proportion of "liberals," have barricaded themselves into their comfortable homes with their Macintoshes and televisions only to come out warily in search of a decaf latte at Starbucks. Castleman premises the essay with a self-congratulatory note about his refusal to join the exodus of families from cities into the suburbs. His neighborhood, writes Castleman, is an urban oasis in which a diverse group of people live in harmony. What follows, though, is an ode to a suburban mind-set in which everyone is seen as a potential thief, and the only reason to interact with neighbors is to form a group which agrees to keep its eyes peeled for outsiders. Even these neighborhood watch meetings are not truly safe, as Castleman suspects his fellow crime warriors to be criminals themselves. I would much rather live in the suburbs than have some paranoid guy hitch up his pants and try to get "neighborly" with me or my family in order to form an alliance against people who don't (nudge, nudge) "belong."

   The article was clearly written for a white, middle-class audience and assumes a shared paranoia about crime, specifically at the hands of nonwhite, non-middle-class people. Castleman writes that he avoids young black men because he believes that they are more likely to attack him. He is unapologetic about his blatant stereotypical and racist attitude towards African Americans, instead complimenting himself for the logic of his actions.

   It is clear that crime is on the minds of most Americans, but the fears of an upper-middle-class white guy do not belong on the pages of Mother Jones. (Edward Smock)

2. On the face of it, one might want to be neighbors with Castleman. He's straightforward, speaks his mind, believes in and acts for neighborly sociableness, and speaks honestly about the effects of violence in his life and upon his family. These are serious things and command respect. As a householder in Noe Valley, he is all for watchful neighborliness with bona fide members of what he calls the "astonishingly diverse" neighborhood. And in general, he seems to prefer to engage people directly rather than calling for outside help on matters that pertain to the block. Only when he begins to speculate about crime's causes does the not-in-my-parking-space indignation begin to leak.

   Noe Valley is an on-the-hill neighborhood where, Castleman notes, houses sell for half a million dollars. Its serious problems are not street crime, but the declining budgets, shortened hours, and withdrawal of white students from the wonderful local middle school; the lack of safe, funded activities and places in the community where actual young people can gather; and the real estate and banking practices which drive up the price of housing.

   If Castleman is serious about organizing against crime, what about putting support into the school and other youth services? What about addressing the real estate practices and bank funding policies that make home ownership so exclusive? How about building alliances with community groups and activists to acknowledge the much larger common community interests? And how about taking a good hard look at your attitudes?

   You can't have a real neighborhood party based on fear. Nor one where the host checks the silver and the window latches after you leave. This article is not about hardening the target, but hardening the heart. (Allan Creighton)