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Happening Here

I am writing to express my great dismay that a letter published in the Guilford Courier [David Egan’s Feb. 2 letter “Question the Motives”] seems to posit that hate crimes in our country are not on the rise and thus do not pose a serious threat to our friends, our neighbors, our communities, and our democracy.

At the end of last year, a swastika was painted on the I-95 overpass in Branford. The writer called police departments in two towns in Connecticut and from that, he seems to have extrapolated that no hate crimes are happening here.

Burying our heads in the sand this way sets a dangerous precedent. If he wants to know about hate crimes, I would encourage the letter writer to contact the local synagogues and ask them. Our beautiful America was built on the freedom of religion and speech. We need to come together, acknowledge these hate crimes for the acts of terrorism that they are, and work together to fight against hatred.

Carol Rizzolo

Guilford