Letters

I honestly don’t understand why the Sag Harbor Express lets Carlos Sandoval write opinions. The recent “The Wife Beater” opinion [Vistas, June 4] is so full of vitriol and hate and presumption that he can’t be taken seriously.

His latest analysis of a simple comment by a man who held the door for his disabled husband sent him down a dark path.

The simple act of saying, “Of course always glad to help a fellow American, there ain’t many of us left,” sent him to judge his content by the way he was dressed. The fact that he was wearing according to him a “wife beater” shirt must mean that he was referring to the color of his skin. Did you ever stop and think Mr. Sandoval that maybe he meant “not many gentlemen left?” Not a judgment on skin tone or ancestry nor citizenship.

A product of my father’s upbringing, I was taught to hold doors for women and those who looked like they needed assistance. To this day, many will comment that “there’s not many gentlemen left” I guess now it’s really just a product of my white privilege.

But here’s the thing about Mr. Sandoval: He sees himself the perpetual victim because of the color of his skin and his ethnicity. I say he needs therapy to accept who he is rather than project what others think of him.

The zinger for me, he went on to say “He was dressed the part of someone lost in his ignorance, disdain and hate.”

Wow, that’s what he came up with after this “wife beater” held the door for a disabled person while he sat in the car not helping his husband. Talk about not being grateful, you took it to another level.

But, you didn’t stop there you went on about “replacement theory,” “the extreme right” even disparaging Latinos for turning Republican. How dare they think for themselves.

You don’t get it because you don’t live in a marginalized community where many Latinos have seen the recent arrival of gang members from Venezuela, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, these gang members have infected their community. Who do you think these people prey on Mr. Sandoval? Not people who live in the Hamptons. Every day they must remain vigilant lest they become victims to racketeering, shake downs and threats to their family members.

Mr. Sandoval, you truly have no clue what’s really going on, yet you continue to play the victim.

Thomas Jones

Sag Harbor