I, being of Native American descent and proud of it, must speak to the events concerning the young men from Kentucky that gave a lot of people their 15 minutes of tainted fame.

I watched the video and I saw nothing to declare that the young men were out of line, disrespectful in any way.

They were being harassed, abused and disrespected themselves because of their religious beliefs. The words that were flung at them will have a life long scar on their lives. They will time and time again return to those minutes and the sounds and remember the fear that crept into them and the aloneness they must have felt.

They were on an outing in the Capital of the United States of America supporting something that they had been taught and themselves believe.

Some say they had no business wearing the MAGA hats. I say why not? I choose to believe that the hats were worn for warmth, they stood out, easily seen, and were representative of a topic they are rightfully free to express. They were in an environment of self expression and support of a topic they believe in. They had not and have not done anything wrong.

If our young men and women could get the respect they deserve, in many, many areas, I truly believe that our youth would have a deeper sense of belonging, equality and importance. They need to be praised and held up and by all means led to believe that they have a voice.

When the parents are led to bring up their children in their religious beliefs, good manners, respect and educate them fully, we will get adults that are respectful with good manners and have common sense.

Those young men did nothing wrong and I got leaky eyes when I saw them start to chant their school songs and rallying yells to drown out the filth and evil words that were being thrown at them.

Twanda Smith

Danville