Editor:

The Gideon Bible controversy has given the bullies and bigots in our community an opportunity to reveal themselves which has given many of us the opportunity to speak out against them.

Unfortunately, bullying, bigotry, and racism can be disguised as exercising religious rights and freedoms which we hesitate to infringe on. The religious bullies take full advantage of this which gives them the free reign they desire.

The use of any religion to express bigotry or racism to bully others into submission needs to be recognized for what it is and stopped.

Because Christianity happened to be the dominant faith of early immigrants to Canada does not make this religion superior. Nor does this history make Christians a superior people. A supremacist mentality is a dangerous one as we well know.

Arriving here first does not give Christians, past or present, the right to dominate proclaiming their faith to be the only legitimate and Canadian one. Neither does Christianity have a monopoly on morality and virtues leaving other faiths or secular beliefs devoid of these qualities.

Canada is most known around the world as a welcoming multicultural democracy tolerant of different views, cultures, faiths and beliefs. These ingredients make the Canada I am proud of-not a select religion practised here.

With bullying awareness this week, it is a good time for us to reflect on attitudes we have recently witnessed in our community. Are we a community that tolerates bullying, bigotry and racism, as we have seen Mr. Ajabu subjected to, or do we oppose this behaviour?

M. Graham Chilliwack