The responses I’ve heard to reports that white supremacist group Firm 22 is openly in Port Angeles, as seen in the PDN on April 21, have been weighing on my heart.
Most people seem to think that this is just fine as long as they’re spending money and not being overtly violent.
I’m saddened to hear that so many would put making money over combating hate.
I used to have a friend whose grandfather rented out meeting space to the Ku Klux Klan, saying that he didn’t care whose money he took.
The fact is, by taking the money of those who openly hate rather than refusing to welcome them you are giving them legitimacy and a voice.
I hope that we might reconsider what kind of messages we want to support in our town, and that it won’t be “the dollar rules all.”
Samantha Hines,
Port Angeles