Letter exemplified why people remain silent

How easy it must be to dismiss a political minority’s reluctance to speak

Give credit where it’s due: Paul Montague very succinctly conveyed the reason a political minority would remain silent when he implied voting Republican is voting in favor of “sexual predators, liars, corruption, anti-Constitutional actions and hypocrisy” (“Recent article missed the mark,” Feb. 28). One would have to be a masochist to engage in a political conversation with someone whose position is grounded in such an intellectually-lazy generalization (yet here I am.) Does he also believe 63 million people thought “Yes, I want to put a racist misogynist in the White House”?

How easy it must be to dismiss a political minority’s reluctance to speak, characterizing it as mere unhappiness at their views being unpopular, when you hold moral authority (see “voting Republican” above.) Surely those other views wouldn’t be so unpopular if they weren’t so wrong.

Although I think Vashon is slightly more ideologically diverse than election results suggest (thanks to those sneaky libertarians and their live-and-let-live approach), I agree with many of the points Isabelle Spence and Mari Kanagi made in their article, in particular those about ideological bubbles.

I love Vashon because it’s full of people of vision who believe in, support and march for important causes, but let’s face it: Is there anything more self-congratulatory than parading around with a “Protect Mueller” sign, or marching for LGBTQ rights, or the environment, on Vashon of all places?

But, lest my prose become too rambling and my point too imprecise: Paul, why don’t you try wearing a MAGA hat for a day, and let us know about the “counterpoints” you come across?

— Pablo Peani