People have a right to be angry

Dear Editor:

The time is long overdue to define the difference between hate and anger, and to challenge Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s attempts to paint us all racists and bigots.

According to a recent Canadian Press news item, Wernick’s hate mail over SNCLavalin, “the country’s top public servant received profanity-laced social-media messages calling him “garbage,” a “traitor,” a “loser” and a “liar” after defending the Trudeau government’s conduct in the SNC-Lavalin affair.”

Hate is like a vitriolic anger that on a bad day might motivate somebody to seriously hurt or even kill somebody.

The sentiments expressed in Privy Council Clerk Michael Wernick’s e-mails are in all likelihood nothing more, and nothing less than expressions of anger and frustration over the callous and irresponsible ways our federal Liberal government is dealing with the more important and complex issues facing our nation, and justifiably so.

Reflecting on some of the more controversial decisions Prime Minister Trudeau has made recently, like lying to the people about scrapping our colonial electoral system, buying a $4.5-billion pipeline with our tax dollars just to make sure it does not get built, and the relationships between our federal governments and SNC Lavalin, it’s no wonder the people are angry.

But to insist those expressions of anger as hatred is blatant overkill. Andy Thomsen, Kelowna