‘Hate’ speech

Dear editor:

This letter is in response to a letter sent in by Scott Ruff on Oct 21. In his letter, Mr. Ruff complains about Republican political ads allegedly saying he should hate various Democrat political leaders like Clinton, Pelosi and Feinstein. I’ve seen some of those ads and I don’t remember seeing or hearing the word “hate” in any of them. They do mention facts on why you shouldn’t vote for them, but no hate mentioned. I guess to Mr. Ruff, if you speak ill of a Democrat/liberal, it’s labeled hate speech.

Of course, Mr. Ruff then moves on to being critical of President Trump, mentioning his dealings with a porn star which happened almost 13 years ago. Trump isn’t a saint, but perhaps we ought to let that be between him and his wife. More criticism then is directed at Trump concerning how he somehow squandered his $160 million inheritance from his father, which of course is false. His net worth is around $8.7 billion, hardly anything he squandered. Yes, some of his casinos did declare bankruptcy, which if Mr. Ruff knew anything about business, doesn’t automatically equate to failure. Declaring bankruptcy (usually Chapter 11) in business is simply a strategic decision that allows businesses to reorganize and stay in business with less debt on its balance sheet. President Trump never declared personal bankruptcy. Concerning Trump University, it did close and lawsuits were settled and no fraud was ever proven.

Mr. Ruff complains about all the hate supposedly the Republicans put out, but of course fails to mention all the negativity and hate the Democrats and liberals exhibit through ads, media, and protesters. Sounds a little hypocritical to me. I wish we could all be more civil to each other, but with Maxine Waters and Hillary Clinton (yes, and sometimes President Trump) preaching the opposite, I’m not sure it’s going to happen anytime soon.

Mike Williams Hot Springs Village