To the editor:

Though I have not witnessed this personally, my adopted daughter who is of Asian decent, and lives in another part of our country, has experienced it first-hand. It has progressed to the point that she is scared for her own safety. She is ostracized in part due to the unfounded rhetoric of certain groups of people that are trying to blame Asians for the pandemic. People are entitled to their opinion, but in doing so, through ignorance or racial intolerance have taken it upon themselves to see all people of Asian decent as villains in this pandemic. My daughter is as American as any of those who choose to use comments or threatening jesters, to voice their displeasure at the present situation by placing blame on anyone who looks Asian. That is not what America is about. That is not what America believes in. America is about US. The America we live in is about the freedom to express your opinions but it does not guarantee the right to treat other Americans as outcasts simply because they have different features and lineage. It is nothing but wrong to think those Americans are not due the same respect, acceptance, freedoms and opportunities as the rest of us. Don’t forget that all our ancestors came from somewhere else with the exception of native Indian tribes. We are all immigrants. We are different but we are the same in that we love our country and we are all Americans. Our country was born of acceptance, tolerance, freedoms and a willingness to lend a hand to one another regardless of our differences. That is what makes America great.

Thomas L. Condon

A veteran of the Vietnam War

Fort Dodge