Letters on standing up to hate, Peterjohn

Stand up to hate, voices of intolerance

The two leading GOP candidates support the monitoring of mosques. A Sedgwick County commissioner warns about the “Islamist threat.” Wichitans oppose Islamic usage of Wichita State University’s chapel out of ignorance and fear. These are all a part of the dangerous reality that our Muslim brothers and sisters have to live with today.

It is extremely important that non-Muslims of goodwill do not remain silent at this time. Our fellow Wichitans need to hear the voices of tolerance. They need to hear that we will not allow people like Donald Trump or County Commissioner Karl Peterjohn to go unanswered.

My family and I are Catholics. Our faith forbids us to vilify Muslims, who share our worship of the same Abrahamic God. Our family, like most in America, come from immigrants of another continent who were all hoping to better their own.

Be heard. Stand up when you hear hate and find a way to show your Islamic neighbors that they deserve equal respect.

Threat to liberty

One of the smartest, most trustworthy individuals I have ever met was a student at Wichita State University from Pakistan whose last name was Mohammed. It sickens me when narrow-minded, ill-informed, bigoted politicians, like certain members of the Sedgwick County Commission, denigrate this fine man and others like him simply because of his religious beliefs and his name. This ignorance poses a far greater threat to our liberty and the American way of life than any potential terrorist attack.

Be prepared for Karls

Sedgwick County Commissioner Karl Peterjohn’s cogent analysis of the “Islamist threat” to America, specifically his focus on the Muhammads of the world, inspired me to do some research. Shockingly, I have found that there is an awful amount of Karls who have engaged in a whole host of heinous and vile and despicable acts.

For instance, Karl Taylor, a convicted rapist in New York, who died this year attacking prison guards.

Or Karl Karlsen, who murdered his son in Seneca County, N.Y.

Or Karl Landt, an Illinois man charged with setting up hidden cameras in women’s locker rooms.

Or Karl-Otto Koch, the first commandant of the Nazi concentration camps at Buchenwald and Sachsenhausen.

Or, perhaps worst of all, Karl Marx, who needs no introduction.

What is Karl Peterjohn hiding?

Let me be clear – not all Karls are evil, but that is irrelevant.

The voters of Sedgwick County would do well to “be prepared” for the risks the next time they go to the ballot box for county commissioner.

This story was originally published November 24, 2015 at 6:05 PM with the headline "Letters on standing up to hate, Peterjohn."