Do KKK, anti-abortion terrorists make all Christians racist killers?

Opinion: February 10, 2015 at 12:00a.m.

In a Letter to the Editor head- lined “Islam hardly religion of peace and love,” (Vindicator, Feb. 1), a local veterinarian (and one-time presidential candidate) seems absolutely determined to tar each and every practitioner of Islam with the same brush.

His counter to the assertion that the Charlie Hebdo attacks were carried out by a small and unrepresentative number of Islamic extremists was what about ISIS?

This almost seems too elementary, but I suggest that he add the totality of ISIS followers to the number of Charlie Hebdo attackers. Now, what percentage of all followers of Islam worldwide does this represent?

I also suggest a second story problem: add the number of “Christian” individuals who have murdered doctors who perform abortions to the total number of members of that wonderfully “Christian” organization, the Ku Klux Klan. Aha, there you have it — incontrovertible proof that all Christians are racist killers.

I would like to conclude by relating an incident that occurred later on the same day this gentleman’s letter appeared. In the wake of that day’s horrible weather conditions, my car became stuck in a snow embankment, with no hope of getting free from it. I had just called AAA when two men passing by stopped their car and got out. Despite not even having gloves to shield their hands from the cold, they got behind my car and managed to push until it was freed. As I expressed my gratitude, I offered to pay them something for their trouble. They politely refused, asking only that I say “God bless you,” which I was happy to do.

Of course I can’t be certain, but their voices and their mode of expression indicated that they might well be of the Islamic faith. If so, in the letter-writer’s world, they surely must have been “lying to infidels to convince them that Islam is a religion of peace.”

How sad.

Michael R. Greenfield, Boardman