Editor:
Re: Ordinary people defy the hate, June 21 editorial.
I always read editorials in every paper that I come across.
They ‘scoop up’ the essence of what is going on in our community, province, country or even world. Editorials, after all, are published as an official argument or expression of opinion – a leading article! Therefore, I assume that the writer embraces a great deal of social awareness.
Referring to the editorial in the June 21 Peace Arch News, my first response was– “How could you?”
You wrote with passion about horrible tragedies around the world connected to terrorists killing an maiming innocent people, heartbreaking to every decent human being and bringing anger and even hate.
And then the paragraph: “Today, given the multiplicity of motivations for acts of violence – many of them rooted more in mental illness than many cogent world view – there are no places where we can shield our younger generations from threat.”
Please, not again, broadly mentioning “mental illness” associated with acts committed out of pure evil political or religious extremism.
The mental-health community has a big enough struggle to educate, protect and nurture.
Heidi Bumann, Surrey