As an American of Italian descent, I am appalled and embarrassed by the lawsuit filed by a selection of restaurant owners in Boston’s North End claiming that Mayor Michelle Wu is prejudiced against white men of Italian ancestry in her decisions regarding sidewalk dining in that neighborhood (“A new claim in North End fight: Restaurateurs claim discrimination,” Business, March 9).
Being 71, I am old enough to have experienced the bigotry of white Americans who did not hesitate to harass, assault, and even deny me employment based on my heritage. English was a second language for my parents. They tolerated no racism in the house. I can only imagine what they went through as first-generation Americans born to Sicilian immigrants.
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As for the restaurants that are a party to the suit, their charge of bias against the mayor at a time when Asians are being assaulted and even killed by bigots is inexcusable.
A policy disagreement is respectable. A spurious charge of discrimination is shameful.
Joseph Bocchicchio
Roslindale
