HATE: Let’s not allow the racists to speak for us

I have had the opportunity to live all over this country and I have to say that Coeur d’Alene is one of the most beautiful locations in the entire nation. Well, it is one of the most beautiful locations physically. It’s not so pretty when a small handful of racists take it upon themselves to begin harassing people who are of a different color or race from themselves.

If you missed the article, a group of Coeur d’Alene Tribal School students on a field trip to McEuen Park were harassed blettery a group of white, middle-aged males. It is hard for me to imagine the rare kind of cowardice it takes for a group of middle-aged men to harass children. 

Sadly, it’s not the first such incident. Two years ago, an armed, white supremacist hate group was arrested on their way to break up a Pride event being held in Coeur d’Alene. Just two months ago, the University of Utah women’s basketball team walked in downtown Coeur d’Alene and were racially harassed.

I admire Tribal Chairman Chief Allan when he wrote that, “…he would not sit back and watch our community deteriorate into a place where people believe it’s OK to treat people differently based on the color of their skin.” 

When friends from different parts of the country call me, they often say, “Hey, Coeur d’Alene was on the news again.” The story is rarely about the beauty of the lake or the gorgeous forests. Instead, the stories that make the national news are about a tiny handful of racists who have taken it upon themselves to say — through their actions — that Coeur d’Alene is about racism and hatred. I know these actions do not represent the vast majority of people of Coeur d’Alene. 

Hate-filled speech is simply against the standards of human decency. Repeatedly, I find the people of Coeur d’Alene filled with kindness and decency. Let’s not let bigoted racists speak for us.

REV. DENNIS ASHLEY

Spokane (reverend at a Coeur d’Alene church)