LETTERS: Hate speech rears its ugly head at Ozaukee County Fair booth

On Friday, Aug. 2, while enjoying the Ozaukee County Fair, we stopped at the
Democratic Party booth. It turned out we knew one of the volunteers, so we ended up staying for a while, talking about our kids.

As we were talking, an older couple came up to the booth. The man leaned in and said, “I don’t mean to be rude or mean, but in the name of Our Savior Jesus Christ, all Democrats should be wiped from the face of the earth.” He and his wife then quickly walked away.

This was hate speech.

We are both Democrats, and our families have lived in Ozaukee County, a predominantly Republican county, for decades. We have both witnessed a good amount of anger and dismissal towards Democrats in that time, but we have never been told we shouldn’t be alive.

To make matters even worse, this hate speech directed at us came in a week when there were three mass shootings in our nation because someone thought that people who were different from them shouldn’t be alive. In essence, the shooters were saying people they didn’t agree with should be “wiped from the face of the earth.”

This is a horrific example of what happens when we decide that civility, listening and learning don’t matter. It’s time to stop this. We are all responsible for how our nation is fracturing. Please stand up to hate speech and actions. It’s the only way to get America back on track.

Judi Larkin
Lenore Cira
Cedarburg