My recent letter, submitted to the Herald with the subject line “Don’t Discredit the Women’s Movement,” condemned the “atrocious statements,” “appalling anti-Semitic comments” and “unacceptable anti-Semitic statements” of Louis Farrakhan.
Unfortunately, the Herald added the headline: “Farrakhan has done good things, too.” That headline in no way represented me or my beliefs. Perhaps it’s not surprising that a casual reader was misled, suggesting that my letter was anti-Semitic.
The point of my letter was that the Herald’s editorial (“Minister of hate: Why can’t national Women’s March leaders quit him?” Jan. 10), attempting to associate the broader women’s movement and what it called “the Democratic left” with anti-Semitism based on the conduct of the national march co-president was unfair. My intent was never to “justify” Farrakhan, because he cannot be justified, but to point out the harm of attributing the conduct or statements of a leader to an entire movement, and to the many in that movement who vehemently disagree with such sentiments.
Anyone who knows me understands that I do not sanction anti-Semitism or hatred in any form. Rather than continuing to rehash the unfortunate controversy surrounding the Women’s March, perhaps we should focus on addressing the alarming rise of hate crimes in our country based on a victim’s sexual orientation, race, ethnicity or religion, most significantly, the rise in anti-Semitism and white nationalism, and an administration that has been unwilling to confront this problem.
I appreciate the Herald allowing me to respond.
Carol Cure
Durango
