The Westboro Baptist Church protests funerals of our troops with the banner “Thank God for 9/11,” and celebrated Sunday’s mass shooting with the message “God Sent the Shooter.” Recruiting fliers for the KKK were distributed with the words, “Transgender is an abomination. Join and help us,” including their 24/7 hotline. Both are classified as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center, the FBI’s historic partner in gathering information on hate crimes. 

So is Heterosexuals Organized for a Moral Environment, Wayne Lela’s organization that promotes the views that Freemasons, The Rolling Stones, and the punishment afforded hate crimes are part of a “homosexual movement.”

He has submitted many similar letters over the years across the country, including replicas of this recent letter to the Anchorage Press and Mat-Su Frontiersman. Clearly one of our community members appeared in these pages as an abstraction; used simply as a talking point for rhetoric rather than treated with the respect and support all deserve.

Nothing has “gone wrong somewhere” when a student succeeds with their own work and the support of the community. Hateful words directed at individuals and groups are the “real threat to the psychological well-being of our nation.”

I believe we shouldn’t let founders of hate groups influence how we treat each other, unless it is to remind us to be kinder to try and make up the difference.

Trina McCandless

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