I am usually proud to call Lewiston my hometown; however, Lewiston seems to make the news when something negative happens.

The comments by Mayor Robert Macdonald in a recent BBC documentary are deplorable. The fact is, it is 2012 not 1812. The United States no longer subscribe to the melting pot metaphor when it comes to society, but rather a mosaic. As the term melting pot implies — and Macdonald so eloquently put — one is to check their culture at the door and assimilate to society.

That is pure ignorance on his part.

I would like to also point out that Somalia has been in a horrific civil war for more than 20 years with an estimated 500,000-plus deaths, and that many of the Somalis who call Lewiston home are refugees fleeing from a war-torn nation.

Maine has a proud history of welcoming different communities fleeing from religious and ethnic persecution. As Americans, most of us can’t even imagine being uprooted from our homes due to bloodshed, war and violence, but it wasn’t many generations ago that many of our relatives had to bravely flee their homeland and call Lewiston home.

The United States is a multicultural nation. We are a mosaic of different cultures within one nation. I would like to think that Lewiston celebrates all cultures, given the Greek Festival and the Franco-American Heritage Center.

Perhaps Macdonald should engage in another culture via food. I recommend Mother India.

Lukas Akerley, Boston