I’m glad that guest columnist Paul Taylor had a chance to visit Chicago, a wonderful city [“Hanging around the DNC,” Aug. 24]. However, I had to read his column twice to make sure that I understood his point.

Was it that most of the people near the convention were well-dressed? That they were not hanging around in bars in T-shirts? That there were spending their time at the actual convention? That the protesters and police were peaceful? Did he really say that attendees didn’t look like “real” Democrats?

In the most momentous Democratic convention that most of them have ever experienced, when a Black and South Asian woman was about to be a presidential nominee, they dressed for the occasion: HBCU sorority sisters; state governors; electors and voters all stood in line. Dressing for such an important occasion was not only democratic, it was a mark of respect.

Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina

Northampton