Hate speech isn’t right

Hate speech may be protected under the First Amendment, but that doesn’t mean it’s right, responsible or appropriate to print deranged and hateful diatribes like Alice Shannon’s letter, printed in the Clarion on Jan. 29.

Her call to “stomp out” atheists in America and her dark predictions of atheists destroying America by “practicing what can only be called evil” is frighteningly reminiscent of Adolf Hitler’s contemptible predictions regarding Jews which captivated Germany over 60 years ago.

I am also fascinated by what her definition of “freedom” could possibly be. She defines freedom of religion as the freedom to “believe in God any way you want,” completely ignoring not only the atheists which she so openly abhors, but also any religion that does not conform to her impossibly narrow definition of piety.

I think that the adherents of Buddhism, Agnosticism, Humanism, Unitarian Universalism and a multitude of other polytheistic or atheistic belief systems would object to being limited to “Baptist, Catholic, Methodist, etc.”

Just because vicious attacks of “Get off our country” (apparently there is an inverse relationship between grammar ability and bigotry) are deeply offensive only to a (largely silent) minority of Alaskans does not mean that such assaults, which go directly against the very basic founding principles of this country, should be printed without rebuke.

Shame on Alice Shannon and everyone who agrees with her, and shame on the Peninsula Clarion for providing a forum for such disgusting bigotry and misguided anger.

Joseph Mohorcich

Soldotna