Too Much Hate
To the Editor:
In last Tuesday's primary election, a voter in Macomb was confronted by an election judge. The judge said the voter should be shot, apparently for asking for a Democratic ballot. Amazingly, none of the other election judges intervened in this encounter.
Naively, I thought our little community might be immune from such demonstrations of hate. I thought we mostly sought the same goals of prosperity, love of family, country. We’re a small town, I see familiar faces everywhere I go. I try not to label people as conservative or liberal, rich or poor, us versus them. We’re civil even if we might disagree, we’re neighbors. When I talk with my sister who lives in Austin, Texas about Macomb, the people I interact with, all that is going on, she expresses surprise and maybe even a little envy about our small, tight-knit community. She even subscribes to Community Brief and follows our local writers. Now, she and I will have to discuss this hate that has come out. It was probably always here, but now it’s allowed to be said out loud.
I would ask those who support Mr. Trump to understand that people have a right to a different point of view. The people standing in protest regularly in Chandler Park are not paid to be there, they’re legitimately concerned about what is happening both within our country and what we are doing around the world. They love our country but have a different vision of how to make it better. And they aren’t communist or radical socialist, they’re Americans.
I think the election judge was emboldened by the daily hate-speech of many in the Republican party. The President of the United States and others routinely vilify those who disagree with their policies, demean and harass those who voice opposition. Mr. Trump went as far as calling publicly for the execution of U.S. Senator Mark Kelly for speaking his mind. Senator Kelly is a decorated navy combat pilot and an astronaut. Traditionally we would see him as patriotic and heroic. Invariably, this bad behavior filters down to Mr. Trump’s supporters, and now we have a local election judge feeling justified wanting the death of a citizen, a member of our community, because he is voting his conscience. She thought it was okay to say that in public, to his face, while in an official government role. I believe this is a sign that something is very wrong in America. When we vilify whole groups of people because we don’t like what they say, believe, or look like; we’ve lost community. When I first started writing letters to this paper, I asked others to share their views so that we could start a community conversation. We all need to listen to each other, not yell at each other, and certainly not promote violence. National players and ambitious politicians might continue to vilify those who disagree with them, but we need to live together in our small town. Let’s do better.
Richard Chamberlain Colchester, Illinois
