Re: “Methanol pause is time to reflect” (Viewpoint, 4-3).

I was disappointed to see Bruce Kendall resort to gratuitous characterizations of those who question or oppose the proposed methanol refinery on Tacoma’s Tideflats. Comparing the 1885 expulsion of the defenseless Chinese residents of Tacoma to criticizing the environmental record of Chinese government-owned corporations is a misreading of history.

Kendall should also know that the term “red line” is a phrase used worldwide to mean a figurative “point of no return” or “line in the sand.” It has no relationship to “redlining,” a practice once used by real estate and business interests in Tacoma to discriminate against people of color seeking decent housing.

There are groups of good intention that are questioning or in some cases opposing the proposed world’s largest methanol refinery. They include, in part, the Puyallup Tribal Nation; the city councils of Federal Way, Des Moines and Normandy Park; the Tatoosh Group Sierra Club; the Tahoma Audubon Society; and Citizens for a Healthy Bay.

State Sen. Jeannie Darnielle, a champion of social justice issues, has requested that the Port of Tacoma consider ending the lease arrangement with Northwest Innovation Works. The proposed refinery would sit in the middle of her legislative district.

(Baarsma is a former mayor of Tacoma.)