A racist joke?

Dear Editor:

I feel that the letter to the editor that was printed in the March 10 paper, titled “Last Job You’ll Ever Have,” about the man wanting to commit suicide was extremely inappropriate and lacked the compassion that I feel should be portrayed in our local paper. What was someone thinking?
First of all, it was extremely inconsiderate of those suffering from depression and suicidal thoughts. Secondly, printing a joke about a practice that has killed hundreds if not thousands of Americans each year here in the U.S. and is an everyday occurrence for our soldiers serving overseas is highly disrespectful of the sacrifices they have made to protect our freedom.

I wonder if this joke humored those whose memories are connected with the loss of a family member, friend, or fellow soldiers.

Lastly, we have at least one Muslim family in our community that just very recently wrote a letter to the editor titled something to the effort of “Not all Muslims are Terrorists.” What a slap in the face to that family.
There are those of us who feel that generalizing and stereotyping any group of people shows a true lack of tolerance, empathy, mercy and love — all qualities in which we’ve been afforded in our lives. Whether the joke would have been humorous in another setting is really beside the point. This paper has basically printed a racist joke and called it freedom of speech. I’m so very disappointed and embarrassed by the fact that someone not from Morgan County will read this letter and think it’s the opinion of all Morgan Countians.

This is the first time I’ve ever seen something like this printed in our paper and I hope it will be the last. Let’s not encourage indifference or intolerance by saying nothing. Our efforts will prove far more fruitful when we speak encouragement to those around us.

Patricia Starliper
Berkeley Springs