I moved here from California 6 years ago. I admit that California is pretty liberal on most accounts and that I had been raised in a open-minded household, but I was confused and disappointed at what I witnessed my first year here – people picketing Coming Out Week.

I thought that I had maybe made a mistake and that Ames was too conservative and intolerant. However, I am glad to say that was the last year I saw such behavior.

If holding rallies and marches empowers people and gives them confidence in who they are, more power to them

In addition, while earning a master’s degree in social work at the University of Iowa last year I worked for a year at a psychiatric hospital in a prison right out side of Iowa City. Let me tell you, that was difficult. I worked with people who had committed rape and murder, but I wanted exposure to people with symptoms of severe mental illness to help me understand what kinds of problems people would be dealing with in my line of work.

I made a conscious decision to work with the people I had the most intolerance for, sexual predators, and I asked to co-facilitate a treatment group that they had to participate in.

During the entire time I worked in that hospital I kept an open mind and judged NO ONE, and believe me, you could not imagine some of the things these people had done. I never secretly wished them ill will, or harm.

My point is I am a person who never advocates violence, I do not support the death penalty and I have never even spanked my child. However, after reading Luke Roberts’s letter, I wanted to slap his racist mouth and send him home so his parents could teach him some respect for humanity and the importance of tolerance!

I could take comfort in the fact that the crimes committed by the people in prison were against the law. The venom this boy spews is actually protected! People like Luke Roberts make society an ugly place. The violence and hatred that runs rampant throughout the world is reiterated by people like this.

I think it is basically hypocritical to quote the Bible, but sometimes it does fit. How about “do unto others” and “love thy neighbor”? Perhaps Luke should crawl back into his cave and reevaluate his opinion, considering the punishment he mentioned may actually come back to HIM.

Kim Rezarch

Graduate student

Interdisciplinary studies