I wish to make three comments regarding the recent rallies held in Lewiston.

A nation was watching.

Knowing that the eyes of the nation would be upon them on Saturday, the people of Lewiston and surrounding communities behaved admirably. They sent a clear message that said we would not tolerate the hate-filled bigotry that we have become so wrongly accused of. Those of us who lived here expected no less. Ironically, the only arrest of the day was a man from Portland, a self-professed Skinhead! Good place for him.

Where’s the mayor?

Does anyone really believe that the mayor’s presence, under the circumstances, would have put him in a better light? Not hardly! Those well-intentioned naysayers wishing to place the blame on Mayor Raymond, would have done so whether he attended the rally or went to Florida. It’s my opinion that the mayor saw this as a no-win situation no matter what he did. The fact that he chose to keep a low profile and stay out of the limelight shows him for the caring, unpretentious person that he is.

We want an apology.

To those calling for an apology from the mayor, I would offer the following: you are correct, an apology is needed, but the apology should be forthcoming from the media and from the leaders of the Somali community who used the occasion to inflate an otherwise non-judgmental letter from the leader of a community struggling to assimilate several hundred immigrants in a very short period of time. It was the media who were the first to use the words “bigot, racist and discrimination,” in the hopes of sensationalizing what would have been an uneventful story. Are headlines that important? And, did you notice that they stopped using those words when they found out that the mayor has a granddaughter he loves very much who happens to be black! By then it was too little, too late.

Now if we can just get everyone to go back home and mind their own business.

Roland H. Rancourt Jr., Auburn


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