editorial: Letter's another reason campaign is timely

Cowardice.

That’s the first word that comes to mind when reading the anonymous letter sent to several downtown Coeur d’Alene businesses. The writer spreading a not-so-veiled threat is first and foremost cowardly, much in the manner of neo-Nazis and other white supremacists who occasionally litter local lawns with their anonymous and hateful letters.

There are other descriptives we could add, including some choice words having to do with ignorance and hatred — frequent and unsavory bedfellows — but a label-spewing session of itself won’t advance enlightenment or promote the community’s welfare. So let’s get the filth out of the way and then focus on the cleanup.

The filth: As explained in last Sunday's Press, somebody sent an anonymous letter to downtown Cd'A businesses that support the North Idaho Rejects Hate campaign. North Idaho Rejects Hate is one response from the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations after a group of 31 alleged domestic terrorists targeted Coeur d’Alene in what prosecutors describe as an attempt to incite riots during a Pride Week celebration.

The anonymous letter writer grossly misunderstands the meaning of the North Idaho Rejects Hate campaign, suggesting that it is political in nature, an example of the “woke” mentality and proof that downtown Cd'A is becoming a “cesspool” like downtown Seattle.

North Idaho Rejects Hate has squat to do with politics. It has everything to do with human decency.

We look forward to the day when North Idaho Rejects Hate T-shirts and signs in stores will be relegated to dust-collecting closets because the influence of hate-mongers will be ancient history. But that day isn’t here yet, and if the Patriot Front plot and subsequent poison spewed from its supporters is any indication, that day remains a ways away.

In the meantime, when you see a business declaring North Idaho Rejects Hate, that's probably a business worthy of your patronage.

We agree with former Coeur d’Alene city attorney Mike Gridley that the majority of North Idahoans are really nice people.

The minority likes to distribute anonymous letters.

- Mike Patrick for The Press Editorial Board