To the Editor:

There have been a litany of negative Sound Offs in recent weeks, people writing disparaging remarks about people who utilize Social Services, receive HEAP funding, as well as what I consider an absolute new low, a comment that blames global warming on states allowing same sex marriage.

When I initially read that particular Sound Off, I thought it had to be a joke, because who in their right mind would actually think that there is a correlation between two completely unrelated topics? I then thought maybe someone from the Westboro Baptist Church had infiltrated the North Country.

I realize that North Country This Week fully supports free speech, as do I, as it is a Constitutional Right. However, I believe that North Country This Week could choose to not publish the more incendiary Sound Offs, mostly because they make the whole region look like a bunch of ignorant people, but also because the rules for submitting a Sound Off are clear: Keep submissions to 150 words or fewer; all are subject to editing. Criticisms of local people or businesses and political endorsements are not accepted.

I guess criticizing our poorest and most vulnerable citizens, as well as those who identify themselves as LGBTQ doesn't fit into these rules.

Brenda Thornton

Potsdam