To the editor:

I am writing in regard to the recent Brown County GOP Facebook page post in which the page managers shared an essay titled “The Black Dilemma,” which has since been removed, and the reporting that followed in the Brown County Democrat.

On the one hand, I am glad the Brown County GOP recognized the troublesome content of the post and did what was needed to remove the post. However, Brown County GOP Chairman Mark Bowman’s dismissal of the concerns over the content of the post as people getting their “panties in a wad” is troubling.

The original author of “The Black Dilemma” makes blatantly stereotypical comments that evoke the kind of language one might have seen in earlier generations that denigrated people of Jewish origin. We know very well where that led, and how American women and men, citizens of all races and creeds, sacrificed their lives to help set things right.

Those of us who take issue with propagating this kind of language are not the “negative people” Mr. Bowman refers to in your online article dated April 27. We are citizens deeply concerned about justice and freedom. We work alongside our friends and neighbors of color, who are no less deserving of the benefits of the “American Dream” than us White folk. Characterizing citizens committed to such progress as “negative” is harmful, incorrect, and an example of the “us vs. them” rhetoric that wounds our society.

For Mr. Bowman and the Brown County GOP, it is not enough to simply hide what was shared. If they want their constituents to know they are serious about working toward a more just and inclusive society for all Americans, a good start would be a bold and public apology.

Randy Dillinger, Indianapolis

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