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Pensacola News Journal Forwards Andy Marlette’s Bigotry
As a black man and Scientologist of over 40 years, I am familiar with bigots like Marlette. Rather than gaining an even cursory understanding of the topic at hand, the bigot forms opinions based on God knows what and then clings to them for dear life, while proclaiming falsehoods over and over like a badly scratched CD.
September 29, 2020
Lisa Nellessen Savage
Executive Editor
Pensacola News Journal
lnelless@gannett.com
Dear Ms. Nellessen Savage,
I am writing regarding Andy Marlette’s offensive, discriminatory and hateful opinion piece published September 26.
As a black man and Scientologist of over 40 years, I am familiar with bigots like Marlette. Rather than gaining an even cursory understanding of the topic at hand, the bigot forms opinions based on God knows what and then clings to them for dear life, while proclaiming falsehoods over and over like a badly scratched CD. It’s always easy to spot a bigot, whether the bigotry is regarding race, sexual orientation or religion, as in Marlette’s case.
This is how you get Nazis, Klan members, anti-Semites and homophobes. These casually spout hate in magazines, newspapers or while simply having tea. They all have in common tragic ignorance of the subject they are discussing, coupled with a fanatical devotion to misinformation.
Bigots at the end of the day are cowards, and their bigotry is never limited to one topic. But being afraid, the bigot often chooses his targets carefully.
It’s guaranteed that Marlette has other types of people and religions he is also bigoted towards but, fearing reprisal, he hides them. Perhaps Marlette thinks that Scientology is the last bastion for his psychotic urges. However, he’s mistaken.
We’ve seen this movie before in Germany and know that the best thing to do is to condemn bigots. America functions best when bigotry is shunned, bigots are identified and mutual respect flourishes.
Please remove his hate speech from your website.
Sincerely,
Roger Harrison
Clearwater, Florida
