Dear Editor:
This letter is in response to Donna Andes’ editorial published in the Advocate on March 8, 2017.
Hate speech is hate speech whether you cloak it as education or religious instruction. Radical Islam and radical Christianity do not speak for Muslims and Christians – instead, both broadcast rhetoric of hatred.
When one attempts of distill complex political issues, refugee resettlement and resource allocation by targeting or vilifying an ethnic or religious group, no problems are solved, nor is our country any safer.
Instead, the American ideals echoed by the US Declaration of Independence “…that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” are eroded. This nation has welcomed immigrants and celebrated their contribution to the building of our shared country. A quick trip through the Thomas Catholic Cemetery speaks to that diversity, as do most of our family trees.
Robert Spencer, noted in Ms. Andes’ editorial, is featured in the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Extremist Files as a noted anti-Muslim extremist and was banned in 2013 from entering the United Kingdom because of his incendiary anti-Muslim views.
These are challenging times of widening political divides, of 24/7 news and of an adolescent Internet. Never before, have we had so much un-vetted information vying for our attention and often it is the most shocking, not factual, information that attracts interest.
I believe that we must stand vigilant against the scores of Muslims attempting resettlement in West Virginia, but against bigotry and fear, against misinformation and against those who profit from creating discord.
Respectfully yours,
Sarah Hunt
Thomas, WV
