I was really holding my breath. Should I or shouldn’t I write a letter to the editor damning the paper for all the space given to such racist ignorant remarks by our three elected county commissioners and disappointingly elected county sheriff? And the remarks from a candidate running for office are downright Trumpism. I have educated myself on the history of Three Percenters and they are KKK in sheep’s clothing. Just beware what you’re voting in. And the local police know we care about them, and vice versa. Hermiston Chief Jason Edmiston has a great force. (There’s always room for improvement.)

But reading the East Oregonian on July 14 brought faith and hope back to this subscriber. Not only was it so tastefully written, but it expressed the feelings of how far Eastern Oregonians have grown with joining the country on unity, diversity and equality. We stand up for each other. Period. When people are continuously being misjudged, mistreated and misrecognized as equals to the same rights as gun owners or white supremacists, then there will continue to be protests.

All lives will matter when Black lives matter. Your rights will be recognized when you stop telling others they have no right. Your gun rights are just as important as my life not to be taken for nothing more than the color of my skin, or the person I love, or the heartfelt decision a woman makes about her body. We all have rights for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. You can’t deny others but expect only yours. That’s not what America is about.

If you don’t agree with me, I’d suggest you move to another country, but our president hasn’t made us popular lately. Our neighbors to the north and south have both closed their borders to us, unless you want to climb the wall into Mexico.

Bernie Sanderson

Hermiston