A couple “illustrious” characters to note. First, Maine has a governor who says, “My brain didn’t catch up to my mouth” in explaining his reference to out-of-state heroin dealers who “impregnate a white girl.” I know certain Mainers find charm in that and I hear comments that he doesn’t care what people think, he tells it like it is; or that he isn’t one of them politically correct politicians.
No, he’s not.
Instead, he is a stain on Maine’s reputation.
When a Washington, D.C. cab driver asked my son where he was from and was told “Maine,” the cabbie said, “Oh, you’ve got that crazy governor.”
Now newspapers here in the East are writing about LePage’s out-of-sync cerebral wiring.
My point? I don’t like what that man is doing to my state’s image at a time when Maine needs to attract more young people.
Second, there was a Muslim woman protesting silently against the nativist bully Donald Trump at a rally. She was escorted out. Among the foreign nationals in a writing class I taught recently at the U.S. Embassy in Egypt, the two highest achievers in a bright bunch were women in head scarves — natural leaders with the biggest smiles and a willingness to learn.
I shared the experience with my brother, who used to work for an aid agency. “Egyptians typify the true soul and character of Islam,” he replied. “Such a shame that the extremists have denigrated a religion that has given the world so much.”
Dave Griffiths, Mechanic Falls
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