A hand typed letter to Dita Bhargava, candidate for State Rep District 151 tells her to “Go back wher eyou came from.” The letter is sighed “A very happy Republican.” At the foot of the letter the anonymous sender wrote, “Go Trumph!”
Candidate for State Rep in District 151 Dita Bhargava received a menacing piece of hate mail on Thursday.
Specifically, a typewritten message from someone identifying themselves as an anonymous Republican. The letter, which was attached to Bhargava’s postcard mailer said to, ‘Go back to where you came from.’ The writer, who also drew a mustache on Mrs. Bhargava’s photograph, signed off on the letter, “A very happy Republican.”
At the foot of the note the sender wrote in longhand, “Go Trumph!”
“In my opinion piece, which was very heartfelt, I explained why elected leaders should be held accountable for supporting Donald Trump,” Bhargava said on Friday. “Support for Trump implicitly condones his ugly rhetoric and gives others an okay to engage in it too.”
Bhargava said that is exactly what happened, and that as she was sending out her op-ed piece, the disturbing letter addressed to her was on its way to her home.
“This racist attack turned the clock back for me over three decades,” said Bhargava whose mother immigrated to Canada from India, and moved with Dita to the US in 1995. “As a child, growing up in a community lacking in cultural diversity, these horrible piercing words were often spoken to me.”
Bhargava said it’s disheartening after all the progress that has been made in the US, to hear such words in Greenwich, which, Bhargava said is filled with decent, warm and accepting people of high moral standards.
“Regardless of what happens in this election, we must rise above this ugly rhetoric. It’s so important that we come together as American and Greenwich residents to continue to create a world for our children and future generations that embraces tolerance and unity and not hate and divisiveness,” Bhargava said.
Fred Camillo, who could not immediately be reached for comment, said in his op ed piece this week that he had been offended by Ms. Bhargava’s recent mailing that featured a photo of him opposite an unflattering photograph of Donald Trump. The mailer quoted Camillo saying of Trump, “He’s spot on.”
Camillo, in his op-ed piece published the same day as Ms. Bhargava’s, spoke of “taking the high road,” and vowed to rise above his opponent’s negative campaigning.
This story will be updated with a response from Mr. Camillo when that is available.
See also: Bhargava: Sticks, Stones and Trump’s Political Correctness
Camillo: Despite nasty and distorted mailings, I chose to take the high road.