Thanks to recent letter writer Nestor Gayowsky for sharing your experience of being greeted with Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays signs in the Muslim majority country of Indonesia.
My hope is your sharing will prompt people to question the lie all Muslims can be judged by the actions of a fanatical fringe and that members of the Conservative Party of Canada will reject any candidate using hate speech to win a campaign or get donations.
The tragic murder of six men and the wounding of 19 others in Quebec illustrate hate crimes follow hate speech.
Words matter.
Thanks also to letter writer Miriam Meir for reassuring us that speaking up against the illegal treatment of Palestinians and the Bedouin by the state of Israel is not anti-Semetic.
According to Jane Mayer’s 2016 Dark Money, Sheldon Adelson, an American casino billionaire, is a Zionist and climate-change denier – and the largest donor to the 2016 Trump presidential campaign.
Thanks also to letter writer Joanne Sales for reminding us to guard against being manipulated by campaigns of division and hate.
These are well financed by a few billionaires advancing their personal agenda with contemptuous disregard for how it impacts our communities, democracies and economy — as the Quebec hate crimes illustrate.
Yvonne Zarowny
Qualicum Beach
