July 1 2021
Dear editor;
Having read a variety of opinions on a variety of topics contributed by other subscribers to The Voice over a number of years, I was recently disappointed to find within the pages of this otherwise reputable publication what I consider to be a disturbing example of hate speech.
Such speech is typically defined as abusive or threatening, speech, or writing that expresses prejudice against a particular group, especially on the basis of race, religion, or sexual orientation. I certainly found the contribution of Wayne Lela (“Thoughts on Pride Month: Atone”, June 10, 2021) to fall within that definition.
It would appear that Mr. Lela’s characterization of LGBT issues as “immoral” and simple “nonsense” is based on his own prejudice, and nothing more. I find no indication that he is in any way clinically qualified to judge the validity of questions of gender identity or sexual preferences in today’s society. He refers to the philosophical views of Plato and “many other intellectuals over the centuries” in support of his own prejudice, while he chooses to ignore the insights provided by a multitude of experts of the biological and behavioral sciences of today.
Equally reflective of his own prejudice is his labeling those of the LGBT community as “immoral”. Questions of morality fundamentally derive from a belief in, and relationship with, a Supreme Being for each and every one of us. These issues require resolution within us as individuals, and Mr. Lela’s assessment is no more and no less valid than that of others. But, his conclusion that those of the LGBT community are immoral does not make them so.
Perhaps most disturbingly, in his article he makes reference to suicide and severe depression as being problems among those in the LGBT community….because of their realization that “what they fervently believe is nonsense”. I would suggest that a far more likely cause of such problems lies in the uneducated and unenlightened thinking of those similar Mr. Lela.
It seems to me that the only actual “nonsense” here is Mr. Lela’s misguided and prejudicial rhetoric which The Voice should be embarrassed to have published. Free speech is something we all value and are bound by our Constitution to protect, but hate speech should occupy no space within the pages of this publication.
Vince Smith, Big Rock