FREEDOM OF SPEECH APPLIES TO EVERYONE

Heath Coffield (Public Forum, Feb. 7) wrote to complain that freedom of
speech was being abused by satirist Garry Trudeau's Feb. 2 comic, which
depicted Mr. Butts, Mr. Jay and other drug representations whooping it up at
party and Mr. Jay feeling sorry for himself because he had done so little
harm compared to his legal friends. Mr. Coffield thinks that ideas with
which he does not agree should be kept from his sight. This reader thinks
that Mr. Coffield's desire to kill the messenger is an all-too-clear
indicator that he really does not believe in freedom of speech. There is
nothing irresponsible or against the public interest in expressing one's
opinion in a public forum, provided no laws are broken. In this case, Mr.
Trudeau has depicted a tragic truth in what many would regard as a quite
humorous fashion.

Doonesbury is a national treasure and for The Daily Reflector to censure Mr.
Trudeau or censor his work would be quite reprehensible.

CHRIS POWE, Grand Prairie, Texas