Will no one stand up to Trump?

Re Lawmakers stunned by Trump’s “racist outburst” in Oval office, Jan. 12 I find it remarkable that, other than Mia Love, the Republican congresswoman from Utah, no other Republican has criticized U.S. President Donald Trump for his racist remarks. Why?

I think it runs deeper than a general malaise among Republicans to criticize their president. It runs deep because it is a white male phenomenon. Spend enough time with any white male North American and you are likely to hear “s---hole” remarks of a similar kind in a locker room, shower stall or at the local bar. I wish it weren’t so, but it is true and white male complacency will override what should be our response to such heinous remarks.

We who are white and male and North American need to change that. First by purging the racist within, second by public confession and third by confronting racism whenever it emerges — whether from a president, people we share a pew with at church or guys in the locker room. John Deacon, Thornhill How can leaders in the U.S. stand by and watch as their country is torn apart by ugly racial slurs from the man in their highest office? Surely there are leaders who can say, “Mr. President, please resign, you are doing too much harm, we cannot work with you.”

If the U.S. goes through this crossroad of history without changes, then I fear it and the world are facing a frightful future. I am frightened for all of us. Keith Parkinson, Cambridge