To the Editor:

In the last two editions of this paper, there have been articles and letters to the editor discussing racism.  I believe most Americans agree that racism is wrong, very hurtful, and needs to be discussed and addressed.  However, what also needs to be discussed is how hurtful and wrong it is to be falsely accused of racism.

When the victim of racism is black and the accused are white, there seems to be a rush to judgment and condemnation of, not only the individual accused, but, in some cases, entire groups of people.  In recent history, we have read or seen this happening to entire school districts, people with certain political beliefs, college fraternities or teams, and entire police forces.

In fact, there is evidence of this happening in two letters written to the editor that were published in the March 26 edition.  In Aaron Mair’s letter, he states, “The fact that the Berne-Knox-Westerlo School District did not have any procedures, training, or policies in place to protect students from hate crimes is astounding and speaks to why this type of bias is considered institutional bigotry.”

Unless Mr. Mair has some sort of proof or knowledge that he can share with us, I don't understand how he could have made such a harsh and damaging assessment of the school district solely based on the article he was writing about in his letter to the editor. 

Also, in the same edition, Timothy J. Albright states, “I have concluded that Republicans are not racist, but racists are almost always Republicans or Conservatives.”  Such a wide, sweeping, baseless comment is the very definition of prejudice and is wrong.

Republicans and conservatives across the country and even students in our schools, have been called “racist” for no other reason than not agreeing with the agenda or policies of a president who happens to be black. Again, these people are being called racists without any evidence.

This rush to judgment and condemnation of groups (without evidence) is nothing new. We all saw it years ago when three white lacrosse players attending Duke University were wrongfully accused of being racist and other crimes and subsequently tried and convicted by the court of public opinion, resulting in great damage to their reputations and hardship and stress on their families.

More recently we witnessed it in the case of Officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri.  He was called a racist before the facts of the case were understood and ultimately had to leave his job even though he was not indicted by the St. Louis County grand jury that heard his case and the United States Department of Justice cleared him of civil-rights violations. The rush to judgment not only affected this one white police officer and the Ferguson police department, but police across the country.  Real hurt and damage occurs when people or groups are falsely accused of racism.

I am not suggesting that the young student at Berne-Knox-Westerlo was falsely accusing anyone.  What I am saying is that, when addressing or discussing racist incidents, how about we hold those who have been proven to have committed these crimes accountable.  Let's stop accusing groups of people of being racist, for no other reason then being associated with the accused, or holding certain political beliefs.

Finally, for the students accused of making racist comments at Berne-Knox-Westerlo, if proven to be true, let their punishment fit their crime.  However, let us not forget that these students are not fully grown or formed adults, and, although they need to be punished, they also need an opportunity to learn and redeem themselves, if possible.

Catherine Cunningham                                               

Voorheesville