To the Editor:

I want to thank both Chris Galvin [“Undocumented immigrants are contributing members of our society,” Dec. 10, 2020] and Donna Lansing Baker [“Let’s not politicize vaccine distribution,” Dec. 10, 2020] for their thoughtful letters to The Enterprise as they reminded me yet again that “silence is violence.”

This past week, I’ve spoken with many people who, like Ms. Baker, found Arlene Shako’s letter, “Vaccinate undocumented immigrants last,” in your Dec. 3 edition, both appalling and disturbing to read.  I’ve also listened intently to many who’ve tried to explain Ms. Shako’s point of view.

I must agree with Ms. Galvin’s assertion that “hateful, baseless rhetoric has become pervasive in our country, (and) if we allow ourselves to believe everything we hear without question, we harm ourselves and our fellow citizens.”

As a former science teacher, I used to stress the importance of making decisions based on data. This requires considering your sources, so I appreciated the numerous studies cited in support of Ms. Galvin’s argument.

Weighing the best evidence is more difficult than we realize because people are emotional beings and the human brain naturally tends to look for evidence that supports the beliefs we hold dear. If we’ve been taught all our lives that some people are more deserving and worthy than others, then we might not recognize when we perpetuate beliefs based on falsehoods.

My mother taught me that all human beings are inherently selfish, complicated, unique, and important.  There are no respected medical ethicists that would dole out vaccines based on perceived worthiness.

I haven’t written a letter to the editor in years partially because I know firsthand that blowback from critics can be fierce and lately I haven’t felt brave enough to go down that road again. Instead I sit back and quietly observe the spread of contagion.

I keep thinking about Sarah Gordon’s letters, too, and I know that retreating from hate just allows it more space to grow. Lucky for us, kindness, compassion, and love can also be infectious if we choose to nurture that instead.

Fostering better communication is essential and requires everyone’s participation, even though finding your voice can be difficult. The costs of choosing to sit out have come into full focus for me in 2020, revealing leaders who purposely stoke fearful emotions with “alternative facts.”

The societal and economic impacts of buying whatever the baloney salesmen are selling have now been blatantly exposed for all to see. As we look to science to help escape the raging COVID wildfire all around us, we should utilize these same critical thinking tools to analyze the inequalities laid bare by the virus, and seek better data-driven solutions.

Thank you, Melissa, for your stewardship of The Enterprise, such an important forum for ideas and education.

Katy O’Rourke

Albany