LETTER: Personal attacks based on race are atrocious

Dear Editor,

I know this is the umpteenth letter concerning the racism and prejudice stemming from the attacks on Sept. 11, but as a citizen of the United States of America, I feel something needs to be said. I am a Christian. I am an American. But I feel the hate crimes committed by other so-called Christian-Americans lately is atrocious. To attack someone who lives in this country – this free country – goes against everything we have ever stood for.

Northwest Airlines recently tried to bar three Arabs from getting on a flight … because they were Arabs. Utah threatened a lawsuit unless the airline apologized. A man’s business in Alaska was attacked because of what he looked like. The city offered a substantial reward for the capture of the attacker and raised funds for fixing the man’s business.

Another man was killed in Arizona for his ancestry. This is a ridiculous response to our problems. People are lashing out at anyone they can because they feel helpless. And when they do, they are no better than the perpetrators themselves.

We have worked so hard in this country to accept everyone regardless of who they are. It is a mark against us if we cannot hold to the ideals upon which this country was founded when tragedy strikes. Now, more than at any other time, we need to be united. E pluribus unum.

Teri Gee