Kudos to you for running the piece by Gerard Cloutier as a counterpoint to all of the irrational assumptions about Donald Trump and his supporters leveled by MacLean Gander [“From type to stereotype,” Essay, Dec. 5, 2018].
It is never OK to make wide-ranging assumptions about people you've never met, based on little more than their skin color and political affiliation. Cloutier's counterpoint essay provides a much-needed answer to that kind of divisive writing. There were many people who voted for Trump over Hillary Clinton for varied reasons.
There is so much hypocrisy: Seeking to hire people based solely upon skin color and/or national origin (instead of qualifications) in the name of promoting a version of diversity; super-wealthy people living in giant mansions riding in private jets telling us that climate change has put the Earth at a tipping point; calls for civility and unity while at the same time making absolutely terrible statements about our president and the need to assassinate him, impeach him, or you name it.
Imagine if we could all just accept the election results, stop dividing ourselves, stop attacking one another, and work together to achieve goals?
Democrats, Republicans, conservatives, progressives, LGBTQ, all races and religions - we all bleed red blood, and today's genetic/DNA testing reveals that we all share more heritage than we think. It is time to focus less on what makes us different and more on what makes us all the same.
Thank you for running Cloutier's piece, and I hope more diverse viewpoints make it in to The Commons on its way to a better balance. Bravo!