I am writing to express my concern with the article in the July 23 edition by Robert Whale (“Auburn man charged with hate crime for allegedly threatening neighbors”).

Within the article, Mr. Whale describes the actions allegedly taken by Mr. Hanson against his neighbors. He reports that Mr. Hanson hurled racial insults at his neighbors and also reported he had sent numerous e-mails to Senator Cantwell filled with profanity. Mr. Whale then proceeds to document what those exact racial insults and profanities were.

I think the readers of the article were astute enough to understand the volatility and drama of the situation without a word-for-word description of Mr. Hanson’s rant. I was offended that Mr. Whale felt the need to include the expletives within the context of his article. To me this felt like neighbors gossiping over the fence.

I hope in the future the Auburn Reporter will have more journalist integrity and not feel the need to take on the tone of a tabloid focused on the sensational and vulgar.

– Cynde Norr