Hatred needs to be confronted on the left as well as the right

On Sandra Duerr’s hate speech editorial (“SLO County isn’t immune to hate speech,” Nov. 27): We can all agree that hate speech has no place in a civil society. Since it is inspired by ignorance and immaturity, can we also agree that hate is not ideologically specific?

I found it interesting that, on the same day your editorial ran, your front-page New York Times article about the death of Fidel Castro failed to mention the tens of thousands of deaths attributable to his despotic regime. If your recommendation is to confront hate wherever it may originate, perhaps you might want to pass the idea to The New York Times that killing might deserve mentioning at least as much as hate speech, even when it conflicts with its socialist editorial inclinations.

This story was originally published November 30, 2016 at 8:50 PM with the headline "Hatred needs to be confronted on the left as well as the right."