Jan. 16 was Martin Luther King Day, a day we all celebrate for the freedoms we have in this country and to honor a man who knew about love, fairness and equality. A man who would have stood at the base of the electronic billboard on Route 422, in Butler County, and wept.

He would have thought that this country could not embrace, still, the prejudice, racism and hatred this sign represents with the owner and sponsor of it titling it as “free speech.”

Simply put, hate speech is the total opposite of free speech. Dr. King knew all about free speech, and he practiced it on a daily basis. He was a man of discernment, which is the ability to decipher right from wrong.

Mr. Placek may have removed the swastika from the sign because he finally realized the pain and agony it causes all victims of the Holocaust and their families. Yet, the damage was done, and those of the Jewish faith felt a rumble of hate going through their community in Butler.

The sign of marriage between ONLY a man and a woman caused emotional pain to those who love and marry a person of the same sex or other LGBTQ persons.

Let us hope that his symbols of hate, homophobia and white supremacy will soon be taken down, and with them, may he soon realize the damage done by his words.

Sincerely,

Linda C. Snyder, Slippery Rock