Why the Hatred?
To the editor:
With regards to the factstarved diatribe by Sandy Hooper on the opinion page of today’s Fayette County Record: What on earth has happened to this person that caused them to demonize me? I’m a Democrat – my family have been Democrat since the ‘30s, and although some of us are to the left or to the right of the standard party line, we are still citizens of this nation, just like you are, Hooper. What right do you have to unilaterally condemn all Democrats as people who hate this nation? Does that include my husband, who served in Vietnam? Does that include my brother, who served at the end of the cold war? Does that include my Uncle Jack, who served in Korea? All Democrats.
As for being on the wrong side of history – you might want to recheck your history. Yes, quite a lot of Jim Crow came from Democrats – but those folks left the party and joined the Republicans when it became obvious that Kennedy and LBJ were committed to bringing Jim Crow to an end. Yes, Lincoln was a Republican. But right now, your Republican party is loudly proclaiming ‘America First’– a tagline that first surfaced with the Nativist party in the 1850s, and later became a major talking point for the KKK and the German American Bund (yes, the American Nazi party) in the 20s and 30s.
As for Democrat voters being blinded by hate, lies and deceit -- give an example. For every instance of left-wing threats, you’re probably going to find 10 or more instances of threats from the far right. Besides, I thought one of the conservative talking points about liberals is that they’re ‘woke’ – pick a stance here. Are we blind, or are we ‘woke’? And if we are more inclined to accept those fellow Americans who don’t look like us or speak like us or act like us – how is that hating a country with such a diverse citizenry? You’ll notice that I’m not casting aspersions on you or Republicans. I’m just wanting to know why you hate me so much? When I put up my Biden for President signs – are you going to swing by my house and unload your shotgun into my front windows? I feel that this may be a distinct possibility. Will I just not put up my signs, then? I certainly will! Who’s being the bully here? Well?
And now for the lies you just threw out there – typical far-right Q-Anon talking points without a shred of evidence: Nobody is advocating abortion up to nine months. I defy you to find any credible source for that. Credible.
Nobody wants to abolish the police. We just don’t think that they need anti-tank weaponry.
Nobody is performing gender modification surgery on anyone under the age of 18. Nobody.
How many male-to-female trans persons have ever robbed any female of a sports trophy? Ever?
How many female-to-male trans persons would cause a great deal of consternation were they to be forced to use a typical woman’s bathroom – especially after a couple of years of testosterone therapy? Have you seen them? They have beards, and muscles, and look like a stereotypical guy. Explain that one to your tender little 6 year old.
Nobody in the Democratic party ever got up in front of a crowd and called for ‘sexually explicit books’.
Ever. But the conservatives are certainly more than capable of finding such books, especially if they deal with all the things they fear most – people of color, homosexuals, trans individuals, people from other cultures.
Nah, the borders aren’t wide open. And 94% of the illicit drugs that come into this country come through normal ports of entry rather than in the pockets of the poor asylum seekers you seem so keen to demonize.
As for the rest – well now you’re just being silly. Our current president doesn’t have a bank account with China (although his predecessor did, and his daughter profited by being awarded Chinese trademark protections.) Climate change is a verifiable data set. Electric cars have been around since the ‘20s, so they’re more viable and efficient every year. As for being energy dependent on other countries – we’ve been energy independent since 2019, mostly because of the concerted efforts of every administration since 2007 (including the current and past Democratic ones). Meanwhile, I do my part -- I don’t have a private jet – and I still advocate green energy policies because I’d like my grandchildren (yes, I have four of them) to inherit a world that is better than the extremely polluted environment I grew up in down on the Texas coast amongst the chemical plants. I have vivid memories of temperature inversions causing ground-level trapped gases with a pH level that would melt the paint right off the cars.
You’ll notice I haven’t demonized the conservatives. You’ll notice I’m not calling names. You know why? Because my grandma would come back out of the grave and slap me for being so disrespectful, so lacking in patriotism, that I would categorize conservatives as being anything other than misled, misinformed, and strangely fearful. You’re not demons. You don’t hate America. You do hate me, however, and you might want to kneel down somewhere behind a door where only God can see you and ask yourself “Why?”
Virginia Appleman La Grange