Paper was right to expose cross burning

David Keyes in the Daily Bee was morally and logistically correct in exposing the cross burning held by Shaun Winkler.

Cross burning is without a doubt the number one symbol of homegrown terrorism in the United States. Some might argue, however, that the masked, white-sheet Klan robe holds the symbol of terrorism trophy. Whatever. Peas in the same pod.

I grew up in northern Idaho but worked in Wyoming during the time that Butler and his Neo-Nazis were in ascendancy in the Coeur d’Alene/Hayden area, though I traveled up here three or four times a year. The live-and-let-live philosophy of the citizens of North Idaho, however honorable and beneficial that is, clearly miscalculated the depths of hatred of the group and the publicity consequences.

Seemingly every Neo-Nazi parade received great national attention, such that in the minds of many across the nation (certainly in the minds of my colleagues in Wyoming) “Coeur d’Alene” became synonymous with “Neo-Nazis.” Thanks to the Kootenai County Human Rights Task Force and the Southern Poverty Law Center, they are no longer a major, organized threat, and they no longer define North Idaho in the conscience of the nation.

The Bonner County Human Rights Task Force, in protesting this wanton display of a symbol of a century-and-half of calculated terrorism, deserves your support — bodies, money, letters, an email, a card, an apple pie, a friendly call, even a thumbs-up in passing helps.  

LLOYD AGTE

Plummer

vice president

Benewah Human

Rights Coalition