When I think the opinions of Julie McDonald-Smith can sink no lower, she stoops (“Let’s Talk About Shame”). Apparently the “finger pointing” applies to criticism of published accounts of racist hate speech diatribes by state Sen. Michael Willette, while U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree is the “very definition of shameful.” McDonald-Smith’s assertions that Benjamin Netanyahu’s protocol-breaching appearance will go down as one of the most important in history and that he was “representing freedom, democracy and liberty in the Middle East” might be disputed by the millions of Israeli citizens being held captive and attacked in Gaza. As for honoring Elie Wiesel, who attended in the gallery, that appears a stretch. Does it matter that Mr. Wiesel supports pro-choice ideas? McDonald-Smith concludes that his appearance sparked her connection of the Holocaust to the modern practice of abortion and a blogger’s assertion that the systematic extermination of millions of captive people for racist political purpose and allowing individual women to determine their reproductive process are a “particular strain of evil.”

In her zeal for her argument McDonald-Smith indicts as evil anyone who believes the Constitution protects individual women’s rights to control their own bodies. Her partisan attacks are insulting. McDonald-Smith is confused about what is a hate crime. Deflecting and dismissing criticism of overt racism and bigotry expressed by public officials and the scapegoating of a group based on discrimination are destructive to civic virtue. Shame on you.

Robert Libby
Chebeague Island

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