Dear editor:

I have read Niagara-on-the-Lake Public Library CEO Cathy Simpson’s opinion piece respecting Freedom to Read Week, (“Censorship and what we are allowed to read,” The Lake Report, Feb. 22), and the letter to the editor authored by Matthew French, “Opinion piece espoused right wing talking points,” which appeared in the Feb. 29 edition.

I happen to agree with the sentiments expressed by Ms. Simpson, but more importantly her right to express them.

However, I found Mr. French’s comments about her, which were dripping with hostility, extremely disappointing.

Although I believe he had a right to express his views, it seems to me they were misguided and offensive.

Rather than rebut her views, he chose to attack her personally and in a manner that to me was aimed at harming her both emotionally and economically, which I find both ironic and hypocritical.

Lost in Mr. French’s rhetoric is the fact that today’s orthodoxy is tomorrow’s heterodoxy.  And who is it that determines what constitutes “orthodoxy” as opposed to “heterodoxy”?

What constitutes orthodoxy is largely subjective. If it is interpreted too liberally, as it appears Mr. French does, to cover every recent fad, it would eliminate much meritorious literature.

I believe Ms. Simpson’s expressing the need to permit more diverse content at the library needs to be supported.

She should be commended, rather than pilloried, for having the courage to express her views and refusal to be intimidated by those with Mr. French’s worldview.