To the Editor:
I am compelled to respond to a recent Letter to the Editor, submitted by Mary Fox of Cold Spring, entitled “Hate Has No Home Here.” In her letter, Ms. Fox mischaracterizes a post I made on my Facebook page.
Fox says, “A recent post by Middle Township Mayor Tim Donohue on his personal Facebook page Feb. 20 suggests he thinks those “Hate Has No Home Here” signs are “hypocritical.”
Mary Fox and I are not Facebook Friends, so I must conclude that she heard about this post second (or third?) hand. If that is so, she may have missed my comments in the post that clarified my thoughts on the topic. This might explain why she seems to have taken my post out of context.
Many of you have seen these yard signs, HATE HAS NO HOME HERE. Who can disagree with that sentiment? If you plant that sign in your yard and live by that mantra, good for you. I would be proud to have you as my neighbor. I would hope that we could be friends!
FROM MY FACEBOOK POST:
“But, if you have this sign on your lawn, then dance on the graves of those you disagree with (like Rush Limbaugh), if you spitefully call for the silencing of millions of Americans (because they voted for Trump) and demand the firing of people from their jobs for the sin of challenging your political orthodoxy, then, yeah, you’re a hypocrite. Because, obviously, hate does have a home in your heart. Planting a sanctimonious, virtue-signaling sign in your yard does not automatically earn one side of the political spectrum the moral high ground.”
There is a growing and vocal contingent on the Left that wakes up every day searching for fresh targets to hate, more people to cancel, another voice to censor. We cannot permit them to hide behind high-minded platitudes as they attempt to bully those they disagree with into silence. We have an obligation to call this what it is…hypocrisy.
Mary Fox seems quite genuine in her personal stance. I am not calling her a hypocrite. I applaud her comment, quoting Dr. Martin Luther King. Fox says, “I hope to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.”
That’s a yard sign we should all get behind.
Over the past year, I have personally planted close to 500 signs (and handed out 500 car magnets) in Middle Township with the message…Together We Stand – Middle United. If we stick with that vision, hate (and hypocrisy) truly have no home here.
ED. NOTE: The author serves as mayor of Middle Township.
