To the editor:

This letter is in response to the column submitted by Jerry Turner on January 26 titled “Why are many OK with Trump’s behavior?”In a time when Americans should try to come together, I found Mr. Turner’s column to be extremely divisive. Mr. Turner states that Mr. Trump is a racist, sexist, and cruel human being, and contends that those who support him share some of the same characteristics. I can assure Mr. Turner that I am none of those things and would never support a candidate that I felt possessed those characteristics. Mr. Turner’s point about “the overwhelming preponderance of Trump voters are white” is perplexing. I would counter that a preponderance of Biden voters are also white. This is neither positive nor negative, just a reflection of the demographic in our country. He fails to mention that Mr. Trump also received a record number of votes from the black and Hispanic community. I believe Mr. Turner’s use of this statement is an attempt to portray Trump voters as racist, which could not be further from the truth. The words that Mr. Turner uses to describe Mr. Trump and his supporters are his opinion, and nothing more. He gives no examples of fact to back his assessment, only his “feelings” on the matter. I believe that most of the 74 million Americans that voted for Mr. Trump would like to see more unity in this country, and I am disheartened to see the hateful rhetoric that was exhibited in Mr. Turner’s column. The path to us coming together in this great country is through understanding and respect, not through name-calling and hate.

Toni Schafer

Houston