I was a bit taken back when I saw the signs Joe Dunne put out regarding Ben Chin. You see, this is not the 1960s. In the year 2015, we should be beyond that type of hateful rhetoric. It seems racism is alive and well in Lewiston.
What bothers me almost as much as the hateful rhetoric is the lack of condemnation from city leaders with regard to that type of politics playing out in the community. The silence from Mayors Robert Macdonald and Jonathan LaBonte is quite deafening. Who are their base supporters? Is publicly speaking against that type of politics going to cost them both an election?
In all honesty, I never expected Mayor Macdonald to speak out against that type of behavior. That type of thing seems to mix well with his type of politics. Some people tend to believe his rhetoric — that welfare is a scourge on the community. Somehow, poor and disenfranchised members of society are the cause of all the city’s problems. If we just attack them, all those problems will go away; the state coffers will be full again; angels will dance; and everyone will live happily ever after.
That kind of politics is the greatest scourge on society. Gone are the days when two men who disagree sat to work things out for the betterment of society. They did not attack each other as human beings. There was a greater good guiding them: working for “… a more perfect union.”
David Marquis, Lewiston
Editor’s note: Both mayors spoke with a number of Maine media outlets on Monday and condemned the signs. Mayor Robert Macdonald told the Sun Journal that he learned of the signs last week and asked Joe Dunne not to hang them because they were offensive.
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