Letters

Regarding Dick Sheehan’s letter [“Malice Toward None,” Letters, November 26] — really, Dick? President Abraham Lincoln, in his Second Inaugural Address, on March 4, 1865, concluded his speech with those words. Forty-three days later, April 15, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was murdered by Confederate agents … so much for “malice toward none” and “charity for all.”

Prior to the Southern Confederacy Insurrection, John Brown, an abolitionist, mounted a raid on the U.S. Arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. Even though his intentions were moral — to obtain weapons to arm and free African American slaves — his illegal actions caused the deaths of several people. At the end of this insurrection, John Brown and several of his band were captured, tried for treason, found guilty and executed.

Unfortunately, this was not the case after the Southern Confederacy was defeated. No one was tried or convicted for treason, even after more than 400,000 Americans were killed. This lack of judicial action prolonged the 250 years of suffering, under slavery, that African Americans endured for an additional 150 years of “Jim Crow” laws.

So, Dick, let’s understand what we are talking about. “Malice” is the evil desire to do harm or injury to another person or persons. What we are demanding is “justice” — something that has been missing the past four years under the Trump Crime Family.

Stephen Ring

Hampton Bays