DEAR EDITOR:

I always thought Ohio was a Union Jack state. Not now!

The rise of support for Jim Crow-era rhetoric and thinking permeates the current atmosphere and body politic of Ohio. Election outcome deniers like Jim Jordan and J.D. Vance, as well as local MAGA hats like Rulli, Cutrona, the entire local Republican Party, and even this paper, weigh heavily in favor of laws and election districts that shut out marginalized communities. The rhetoric mirrors the traditional Southern states that advocate for white-dominated communities.

When I was active duty military and stationed in Mississippi, I remember attending Bible study, where the belief was that the white man was chosen by God to have dominion over humanity. They would refer to Noah’s son who was cursed and banished as representing humanity that was not white.

This Southern Christian “Bible belt” mentality so deeply connects to the South’s reverence for slavery and perception of black people as three-fifths human.

This false thinking represents the core of what has evolved into Ohio’s core. A very backward, let’s say “Hillbilly Elegy,” as in Vance’s book.

We must not be swayed by the ignorance and divisive behavior which led to a civil war. We must return to discernment and rational thinking.

I am going to stick by my democratic and Union Jack roots. The South must not rise again!

Ohio must return to its Union Jack roots. We must not elevate traitors of democracy to positions of honor in our society ever again.

KATHLEEN BERRY

Youngstown