To the editor:
In response to the Feb. 27, 2019 letter “Trump Has Misjudged Mexico” I offer the following thoughts:
For years, I have read letters like this printed in local newspapers throughout the Okanagan Valley. Addressing this letter specifically, a good experience in Mexico has changed the way the author views the Mexican people and U.S President Trump has misjudged them. Yet expressing this opinion is not enough when Trump, according to what I read, is now an”idiot” and “giant idiot who needs to go away soon.” Letter writer Nol Preen has abandoned communicating his new found positive opinion of the fine Mexican people and embraced the trending “America bash.”
When my American visitors showed me this letter we could only guess as to why the writer would witness rude/non-tipping behaviour in a Mexican bar then fabricate the opportunity for attack and criticism in claiming “They were probably ignorant Americans,” a statement right out of the blue, early in the letter, setting the tone for the eventual presidential insults. Misjudging and ironic.
Children and young adults read the newspaper and might be looking for an explanation of why choosing to print the words “ignorant Americans” differs from “ignorant gays” or “ignorant Muslims.” I am aware of the different usage and definitions of the word “ignorant” and agree that our laws on discrimination and hate speech include race, religious beliefs, sexual orientation and nationality.
These types of letters chosen for print have become more common. Opinions and disagreements sign off with insults or mudslinging. I don’t know why they are given space in widely distributed newspapers. Maybe Tourism Kelowna should weigh in on this.
Michael Lipinski
Peachland