Fremont County is large, diverse, and filled with opinions, or “talk in the 10.” “Talk in the 10” is an opportunity for you, our readers, to articulate and share your thoughts about what is happening in the community with the community. Letters may have been edited for clarity and length, but generally have been published exactly as received. The views expressed in the following are solely those of the author. Send your letters to our editors by emailing opi[email protected]
Dear Editor,
After a transphobic comic was published in the July 16, 2023 Lander Journal, and in response to the arrival of a white supremacy group in June, this letter was sent to the Lander City Council:
You may have seen this weekend’s Lander Journal, which featured a transphobic comic in the opinion pages. While it is true that we have the right to free speech here in America, it is also true that journalists have the right to refuse to publish hate speech. Instead, the Lander Journal has piggybacked on the momentum from protests related to the LGBTQIA2S+ community here in Lander.
When the Patriot Front aggressively protested the drag show as part of Wind River Pride’s celebrations this month, the City of Lander was conspicuously silent. When the community wrote emails to you asking that Pride events be canceled, the City of Lander was again conspicuously silent. Now, when hateful rhetoric is published in our local newspaper, it is apparent that this silence is being heard as approval and endorsement.
It is beyond time for the City of Lander, our Councilmembers, and our Mayor to speak out against hate. Yes, each person in Lander is entitled to their opinions on any number of things, but that opinion should never be allowed to make others feel unsafe.
Continued trans and homophobia in Lander will only serve to deteriorate the community. Where we used to live largely on the “live and let live” motto, or the belief that as long as something didn’t affect our lives, we ignored it, today’s world is loudly hateful.
Speaking out against hate doesn’t further the fire – it does the opposite. Speaking out against hate lets the community know that Lander residents are welcome in the community no matter their orientation, identity, or religion. Speaking out against hate lets outsiders know that this is not the place to come for protest or disruption. Hate is not welcome here.
Lander has always been a quiet, quaint community with little pockets of bigotry and discrimination, but with each passing moment, the outspokenness of these ideals changes the very fabric of the community we know and love.
Hate and discrimination are no longer quietly shared, they’re being shouted from bridges and published in the newspaper.
Lander needs you now more than ever.
Regardless of your personal opinions about the LGBTQIA2S+ community, they ARE a part of Lander and they deserve to feel SAFE.
The City of Lander needs to issue a statement that hate is not one of the qualities we welcome here in Lander. Discrimination and threats against people simply for existing are not welcome here in Lander.
The time for silence is long past. Every moment you wait to speak is one more moment that hate believes it has won.
Lander will remember your actions now. They will remember if you stand up to hate. They will remember that you chose to do the right thing. And they will remember if you stay silent.
Sara Reilley
Lander