Letter: Don’t question our patriotism

Friday, Jan. 18, 2002 | 4:33 a.m.

A little over a year ago I relocated to Las Vegas after nearly 25 years of living in the Los Angeles area of Southern California. Nevada not only provided a refuge for me when I sorely needed one, but it also gave me many new chances in life that I am convinced would not have come about had I not moved here.

Within less than two weeks I had been offered a great job with one of the city's corporate mainstays. Within three months I was once again a college student at the Community College of Southern Nevada and would soon be accepted at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas as an English major. I made new friends who have come to mean the world to me, and I enjoyed the closeness I was able to re-establish with my immediate family. In short, the Silver State became my home.

All of the above are just a few of the reasons why I was outraged by John Sununu's recent derogatory comments about my adopted state. How dare he imply that Nevada and its citizens are being anything less than patriotic in their opposition to a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain? Even worse, how dare he invoke the tragedy of Sept. 11 in connection with the site?

It is a sad day indeed when someone of Mr. Sununu's "stature" turns the sickening terrorist attacks perpetrated against our nation into a weapon of propaganda callously aimed at even more of her innocent citizens. Mr. Sununu ought to be ashamed of himself and I, for one, want no part of his brand of "patriotism."

ANTHONY GUY PATRICIA