I am appalled, angered and sickened by an article in today’s paper about a family being forced out of their home by the Auburn Mall just days before Christmas (Dec. 20). I can’t think of a more heartless, cruel, mean-spirited thing to do to a single mother with three children.

Any person who treats his fellow human beings, including innocent children, like trash that should be swept out of the way and forgotten does not deserve to do business with decent people who would never dream of doing anything so despicable.

If the mall owner goes through with his horrendous plan to put this poor family out on the street in the middle of winter, I, for one, will never shop there again. I will also encourage as many people as I can to no longer shop there.

I would like to see a judge put a restraining order on the mall owner, forbidding anymore destruction of trees, sports equipment and the building itself, at least until February, the original date the family was told to be out by.

I would also like to see a lawyer step forward to represent this family and protect its rights even if it cannot afford to pay for the service. That’s assuming, of course, that people with modest incomes actually have rights in this greedy profits-before-people society.

People’s worth should never be measured by the size of their bank accounts or the thickness of their wallets.

Laura Starbird, Auburn