Hate Has No Home in Winchester: Letter to the Editor

The following is a letter to the editor from seventh-grade student Luke Macannuco. Get in on the conversation by emailing mike.carraggi@patch.com:

I read, with great interest, Mr. John Natale’s colossal misunderstanding of the “Hate Has No Home Here” signs. Natale’s first mistake was claiming the signs read, “Hate has no place in this home.” Mr. Natale is incorrectly assuming that the owners of the sign are finding it necessary to state that there is no hate in their home. But, as the American flag depicted on the sign signifies, the posters are referencing the entire U.S.A., a country that does not tolerate hate in spite of its current leadership. Those people who have chosen to place a “Hate Has No Home Here” sign on their lawn are standing behind their belief that the country should be free of hate.

Mr. Natale also lists questions that have remained unanswered, so it is my duty to define his burning inquiries:

1. Question: “Who are the haters that you, the sign owner, are referring to?” Answer: Bigots who are trying to take away protections for transgender students, deport refugees and build a very expensive wall to keep illegal immigrants out (which is completely pointless and not helping your cause, but I digress).
2. Question: “What, or whom, do the haters hate?” Answer: Perfectly innocent human beings who happen to be different from the haters.
3. Question: “What is the evidence that there is significant hate in our community?” Answer: Me getting called homosexual slurs by students and adults alike.
4. Question: “Obviously, you are so morally superior that you may declare everyone who disagrees with you a hater (side note: this first part is a statement, not a question). Where, when, and how did you become the Lord High Decider of Morality?” Answer: Never. We just put a lawn sign down. Calm down, dude.

As I stated previously, the signs are not talking exclusively about Winchester. The signs are about the whole United States. They also aren’t implying you are a hater if you disagree; where did you get that idea? Also, Mr. Natale, if you’re going to ask us to do you a favor and take the signs down, do humanity a favor and take your Trump signs down. Finally, if you are going to say signs exhibit “snowflake sensitivity,” take a moment to think about how you are writing an angry letter to a newspaper about a lawn sign.