Dear Representative Herrera Beutler:
I read in today’s paper that a Sikh man was shot and wounded today by a man who said “Go back to your own country.” (The story is here.)
I am certain that you share the horror that I feel at this crime. I do not wish to make facile links, but there has been a wave of violence directed against vulnerable minorities: Jewish cemeteries have been vandalized, two Indian men were shot and killed in Kansas because their assailant thought they did not have the right to be there, and Muslims have been harassed and intimated.
No responsible person can condone these acts. But refusing to condone is scarcely enough. We need people in power to speak out forcefully against the violence; we also need people in power to recognize that our political discourse has become febrile and dangerous. The White House’s anti-immigrant rhetoric has given succor to extremists, and given aid and comfort to those who act with violence and malice.
I ask that you speak out, not only against the violence itself, but against the strident anti-immigrant rhetoric that has been emanating from the White House, and make a public declaration that this divisive language cannot continue.
Sincerely yours,
André Lambelet
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