Bill Minor: Is fear of ‘others’ driving hatred of Obama?

Re “Did Barry Soetoro become Barack Obama?” (Letters, Feb. 27): A recent letter was critical that two of the greatest athletes of American sports changed their names to Muhammad Ali and Kareem Abdul Jabbar. What’s behind this thinking is apparent, but it raises an additional issue: namely fear of other people and theocracies. Consider the fear of Catholicism when the Irish arrived in numbers. The Japanese of northern Merced County will tell you of the fear that placed them in internment camps. Fear has caused terribly unfair laws directed toward the Chinese of San Francisco. Is the fear of Islam now bedeviling us and providing further examples?

This story was originally published March 4, 2015 at 4:41 PM with the headline "Bill Minor: Is fear of ‘others’ driving hatred of Obama?."