Letters to the Editor: Do Republicans actually reject white supremacy, or do they fear losing votes?

To the editor: Just the headline, “Republicans fear Trump’s debate comments on white supremacy could harm them in November,” was enough to make us despair for the future of our democracy and the unity of the American people.

President Trump’s encouragement of the Proud Boys and other white supremacist groups is not a problem because the GOP will lose votes, though that is what many Republicans seem to believe. These remarks, and the president’s repeated refusal to denounce such hate groups when asked to do so, are a problem because hatred is wrong.

White supremacy is evil because it values white lives over all others, especially Black lives here in our nation. White supremacy is evil because it endangers Black men, women and children every time they leave the safety of their homes. White supremacy is evil because it divides our nation and limits opportunities for Americans of color.

The problem is not a loss of votes for Trump. The problem for all of us is the loss of common decency, human compassion and a moral compass that lies not in electoral expediency, but in a commitment to seek the well-being of people.

Martha Morales and Karen Ristine, Claremont

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To the editor: This article states, “By midday, the president distanced himself from his most inflammatory debate remarks.”

I suppose it’s become journalistic shorthand to use “distance himself,” but let’s be honest. For Trump and any politician or public figure, it should read, “After speaking their truth, they constructed a lie to appease their critics.”

Billy Goodnick, Goleta

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To the editor: Like Andrew Jerzy, the Oregon man featured in your article who attends rallies put on by far-right groups, I grew up in the Polish community in Southern California.

My grandfather survived Auschwitz, the Nazis and the communists — actual fascists, in other words. Our grandparents might have even known each other from attending Polish Catholic churches.

Supporting the Proud Boys and white supremacist groups is the antithesis of what our grandparents stood for and desperately escaped. I don’t think he knows what actual fascism is.

Marta Allen, West Covina