Tuesday letters: Call hate by its right name

Senseless violence is chafing at the fabric of the nation. The unspeakable tragedy in Charleston has us all struggling to make sense of nine murders, a deeply troubled young man’s life destroyed, families in chaos with a ripple effect across the nation.

The massacre was obviously premeditated, and something in that man’s troubled mind let him conclude that he was doing something rational.

Minds like his are vulnerable to the hate mongers. Those of us who are left to cope with this reality have no choice but to be proactive. We can’t afford to let hate go unchallenged.

When racial or cultural hate appears anywhere — on vehicle bumpers, on social media, on T-shirts, on the internet, in state and federal legislatures, in hate organizations, in the criminal justice system, in political parties, in hate lobbying groups, at work, anywhere — we must be willing to call it by its right name.

People who spread hate in even its mildest form must never come to believe that is acceptable in a free society. Where we refuse to be intimidated, love will overcome.

Pinopolis

This story was originally published June 22, 2015 at 7:16 PM.