Letter: 'Hate has no home here' is put to the test

Posted 10/2/18

To the editor:

“Hate has no home here.” I have been looking at these words on yard signs for the last two years. What the saying means to me is we are all friends and neighbors in …

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Letter: 'Hate has no home here' is put to the test

Posted

To the editor:

“Hate has no home here.” I have been looking at these words on yard signs for the last two years. What the saying means to me is we are all friends and neighbors in our small town. Whether we see each other on the sidelines at a soccer game, at the gym or walking our dogs, we say hello and engage in a positive way. For the most part I feel this is true in Barrington. I get a friendly wave or hello on my runs. A warm greeting at a PTO meeting. And one of my favorites is when I met longtime friends when our kids were babies because we walked at the same time every night. Those babies went to the senior prom together! These are the interactions that I love most about living in Barrington.

After living in town for 20 years you meet a lot of people. Some become friends others just friendly acquaintances. Some you might not really know at all, just by name. But all the people in this town are not going to share the same opinions as each other. Each person will have their own views on town policies, politics or parenting. Just because someone doesn’t share your same viewpoints doesn’t mean they are not a good person. There is more to a person than their political affiliation or stance on town policy. In fact I have friends and friendly acquaintances that are on the opposite side of my political views but that doesn’t interfere with us having a good time when we are around each other.

I was disgusted last week when I saw a Facebook thread that started by asking friends to chime in on the political yard signs around town (the same person did this two years ago during the election). 

While everyone is entitled to their opinion on social media there is a line that can be crossed into what would be considered bullying or at least inappropriate behavior. The comments were not what I would expect from adults using these platforms. It also appeared that the more critical comments last week and two years ago were about Barrington candidate’s signs who were against the views of the people on the thread. Is a public social media site the best place to criticize the designs of someone’s yard sign or make fun of their palm cards? We tell our children not to bully others online and to be careful what they publish on sites like Facebook. Is it ok for adults to do this?

With the local election coming up I hope we can all treat each other with respect, in person and online. Running for office is hard enough for local candidates who are juggling jobs and family commitments. When you see opposing candidates at the polls simply wish them good luck. Candidates have to do a lot to get to Election Day and whether or not you agree with their views they deserve respect. Republican or Democrat we are all friends, neighbors and acquaintances. Let’s keep the words true “Hate has no home here.”

Lisa Daft

Barrington

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