Letters to the Editor: Trump’s frightening embrace of the racist ‘racehorse’ theory on genetics

To the editor: Most of the coverage we read of President Trump is about his COVID-19 infection, including his reckless advice to the American people not to be afraid of the disease. The L.A. Times has something else: an article by reporter Seema Mehta about the president’s expressed support for the “racehorse theory” of genetics, including a rally in Minnesota last month at which he said his supporters have good genes like he does.

There is much information on the internet about hate-based beliefs, including the racehorse theory, eugenics, Aryan race superiority, ethnic cleansing, forced sterilization of minority groups and more.

Why would any president accept or encourage hateful ideas that deserve to be condemned? America fought against Adolf Hitler and Hideki Tojo in World War II in part because we reject tyrants who kill for the sake of racial hatred.

The optimist in me hopes that Trump does not want to be remembered as a leader whose rule resulted in the death of a million or more people. American exceptionalism should not include joining a list that includes Mao Zedong, Joseph Stalin, Leopold II, Hitler and Tojo.

Alan Stillson, Woodland Hills

..

To the editor: This is more frightening than most things I’ve heard from the Trump administration, and that’s saying a lot.

As a Holocaust educator and a Jew knowledgeable about my people’s history, I know exactly how this ends. Never forget, and never again.

Richard Shafarman, Santa Clarita