Dear Free Press,
This letter is in response to “Don’t believe the hype around Democrats” published on April 7.
First and foremost I would like to thank you for allowing Mr. Gilbert to contribute to our school newspaper. It is very important for a publication such as The Free Press to contain varying view points, different ideas, and suggestions which allow its readers to obtain different perspectives on a myriad of issues.
However, his most recent contribution is a flawless example of the ignorance that is widespread throughout our country.
All politics aside, what he has stated in his article is offensive, oppressive, and rapaciously prejudice. He stated, “[Democrats].keep pushing programs that allow low-income Mainers to live off the state.It’s a tactic that breeds laziness and dependency on government programs.”
What is it that he is trying to say here? Is he saying that all low-income Mainers are lazy and enjoy their financial situation so much that they sit around all day doing nothing but freeload off the State?
His article projects this, and furthermore he is offending all students who attend the University of Maine System including himself.
He and ten thousand other students attend this publicly subsidized university. Does this mean that he is lazy and that the Democrats are trying to keep him in poverty because he attends USM?
If it were not for USM, I would not be able to further the education that will allow me to contribute more to the economy. I am very thankful for this.
I would like to suggest to him that in future articles he should not generalize about the poor. He should educate himself about what it means to be poor in this country.
And I would also like to suggest that he obtain some real-life, real-world experience before he settles on becoming an advocate for this corporate libertarian populace he seems to be representing.
Sincerely,
Matthew C. Hayden
Senior
History Major