DEAR EDITOR:

One of the ironies of American history is that each succeeding wave of immigrants, once they have become “accepted” by the previous wave of immigrants, willingly, if not enthusiastically, attacks the next wave of immigrants.

Each wave, regardless of their origins, was feared, treated as less than human and marginalized. A few examples will make my point.

When the great wave of Irish came, they faced extreme prejudice from the predominantly white Anglo-Saxon Protestant society that they entered. It was not uncommon to see employment ads listed with INNA at the end — Irish Need Not Apply.

Or when the Chinese population appeared to be getting too large, especially on the West Coast, The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was enacted by President Chester Arthur.

Or when waves of Eastern and Southern Europeans entered the country in the early 20th century, President Calvin Coolidge signed the Immigration Act of 1924, effectively reducing immigration by those people to a trickle.

I am Polish by extraction. I am 74 years old. Old enough to remember the tension that Polish immigrants faced from the previous waves of immigrants. My grandfather, whose last name was Pokrywa, told me that to get a job in one of the many steel mills in the Mahoning Valley, he had to change his last name to Porter.

This brings me to Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski, the sheriff in nearby Portage County. Being several generations removed from the Polish immigrants that made it into America and finally being “accepted” by society, he is willingly and enthusiastically spreading lies and fear about the latest wave of immigrants: Hispanics and people from the Caribbean.

He is putting at risk people he is sworn to protect because they have Harris / Walz signs in their yards!

So in November, if you consider voting for him, remember that somewhere in your past there was an immigrant. One of the reasons, I think America is great is because each new wave of immigrants, whenever they arrive, brings new ways of thinking and seeing the world. Do not give in to fear.

DR. FRANK B. WANAT

Poland