I am deeply saddened and angered by the escalating racism and white supremacy vitriol towards people of color, people of different ethnicities and people of different religions.

When this kind of animosity is unleashed from the very highest levels of government, it shows how backward thinking this country is becoming. It is a call for violence and puts targets on certain groups or individuals.

Humanity did not originate in North America. The earliest evidence of homosapiens was in Africa. The white race is not native to what is now the United States of America.

The only natives are the American Indians. They belong to their own racial category. Therefore, every other race category, including whites, are immigrants in the United States. As a white immigrant, we certainly should not consider ourselves to be superior or better than any other race. To elevate oneself at the expense of others is cowardly and shameful.

To encourage and replicate hateful speech is to diminish your own value as a human being and to diminish us all in the eyes of the world.

Every person should be outraged at the racist and disparaging comments that are becoming too common. If this is something you are participating in, take a moment and trade places with one of the people you vilify. How does it feel?

— Carol Pomeroy

Salisbury