To the editor:
Among the many outrageous statements made by Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Gregory Hutchings, Ed.D in his Nov. 12, 2020 column, “Filling in the Blanks,” one is in a class by itself. Hutchings writes, “Sixty years later [speaking of the election between Kennedy and Nixon], the close results of last week’s 2020 presidential election revealed that racism has not yet been abolished.”
Wow. The only way to interpret Hutchings’ statement is he believes the 47% of Americans that voted for President Donald Trump are racists. For the educator responsible for the development of Alexandria’s youth and encouraging their intellectual development to harbor these views is troubling, at best.
In the scenario described by Hutchings, no Americans voted for Trump because he presided over an unprecedented growth in our economy, reducing the pre-COVID-19 unemployment rate for all Americans to record lows. No Americans voted for Trump because he supported school choice, offering the opportunity for youth to escape teacher’s-union dominated public education, which often prioritizes education last.
No Americans voted for Trump because his administration sponsored the development of COVID-19 vaccines, which have demonstrated efficacy in record time, cutting years off the normal timeline. And no Americans voted for Trump because he ushered in a vigorous U.S. foreign policy, pushing back on China in a way no other U.S. president had, putting allies on notice that they need to pay their fair share and ushering in historic peace between Israel and its neighbors.
The only plausible explanation for voting for Trump, according to Hutchings, is that these voters support racism.
As a citizen, Hutchings is certainly entitled to his views on politics. And safely ensconced in Alexandria where 80% of the citizens voted for Biden, perhaps these views are viewed as acceptable. Disagreement is a certainty in our polarized country.
But to paint 47% of Americans as racist for holding different views as Hutchings is beyond the pale. I, for one, am outraged.
-Thomas W. Spoehr, Alexandria
