The news story of Vinalhaven residents cutting down a tree to block people from leaving their house raises a red flag. It put the people in the house at risk, and probably terrified them. It scares me. This is a violent act, and it reveals the danger of yielding to fear and thinking in terms of "them" and "us."

We're all in this together, folks. We need to help one another, or at least be kind. If someone comes from another state, that doesn't make them a pariah, a bad person. Everyone one of us, unless Native American, came from somewhere else, recently or generations ago. I've heard disturbing comments from neighbors who resent people in cars with out-of-state license plates.

This is ugly, and it seems the pandemic is fanning the flames of this long-standing xenophobia.

A glaring example of this nastiness is President Trump calling Covid 19 the "China virus."  His comment caused harassment of Asian people in this country.

Let's all pull together, people, we'll get through this. Call out negative comments and actions, don't block any roads,  and don't let fear and prejudice get the better of you.

Steve Cartwright lives in Tenants Harbor