We Need to Debate Racial Issues, Not Censor Them

To the Editor:

We have been told we need to have a serious debate on racial issues that have been causing protest and riots across our great country.

I agree, however there seems to be an effort to limit debate to only one side of the issue. There have been several letters to the editor that state that my effort as well as other conservatives opinions must be disallowed in the Fayette County Record because it incites racism. The exact words in one letter were “The opinion page of the Record has developed into a platform for a few narrow-minded individuals to purport extreme, unfounded politically or racially based diatribes”

I think that writer realizes that if you do not control the narrative, you do not control the debate. As we have seen across the country on news shows and in newspapers, on Facebook and Twitter conservatives speech is considered “hate speech.”

If you noticed in the riots, people with opposing views are intimidated and many were beaten and even killed. It is very troubling when debate is limited because of intimidation and violence. I would like to have a debate about whether any accusations about racism here in Fayette county would exist if not for the Democratic party making it an issue. All of us here in Fayette County of all races coexist and make our livings together. I am very proud of the fact that during the course of the last 30 to 40 years America as well as Fayette County have worked to eliminate past racism and prejudice between races. There are many issues facing minorities today especially in large metropolitan cities. It is popular politically to blame it on racism. It has gotten so political that any chance of fixing any problems related to race issues such as police brutality is impossible to fix civilly and peacefully. The riots in the street have been lead by activist paid or supported by lobbing groups and elected officials. News media has taken sides as well and any type of communication between groups results in nothing more than insults thrown at each other. While I have been called narrow-minded for implying that there are other issues for those problems, the overall picture is becoming plain: Over throw our current form of government Their start is defunding the police. To the people who say we should be censored I say let’s debate. We all have a lot to say and it may not be what any of us want to hear. The truth has a way of coming out.

Sam Niesner Dubina