Edie Falco reads a letter to white supremacists

December 21st, 2023

Dec 21, 2023

55,444 views • Dec 21, 2023

In the wake of violence in Charlottesville in 2017, a Salt Lake City resident named Jonna Ramey wrote an open letter to white nationalists that was titled, “What Is Wrong With You?” Her letter was published in The Salt Lake Tribune and was soon read by millions. At Letters Live at New York City's The Town Hall back in 2018, acting legend Edie Falco joined us to read it. Letters Live returns to The Town Hall, New York, on 16th May 2024 with another top secret line-up of performers.

ROUGH TRANSCRIPT

00:10 I am a 67-year-old American white woman. My parents enlisted in World War II to fight fascism. They both served. My mother was a nurse. My father navigated bombers. They lost friends in that bloody war so that the world could be free of fascism. They did not fight so that some white people could claim supremacy or that Nazis could openly walk the streets of America, white person to white supremacist person. What is wrong with you?

00:43 <laugh>? People of European heritage are doing just fine in the world. They run. Most of the world institutions hold much of the world's wealth replicate as frequently as other humans. You're not in any danger here. The world is changing. That's true. Others want a piece of the pie. They work for it, strive for it, and earn it. Technology robotics is having a greater effect on your job prospects than immigrants going forward.

01:17 Tackling corporate control and climate change will need all of our attention, ideas, and energy. Put down your tiki torches, <laugh>, and your trite flags, and get involved in some real work. By the way, the world won the war against Nazi fascism in the 1940s. Just as America won the war against the Confederacy in the 1860s. Aligning yourself with two lost causes, just labels you as profound losers.

02:04 And finally, white person to white person like my parents before me. I will not stand idly by, nor give up my rights or the rights of other Americans because you think you are better than some of us. It doesn't work that way. All Americans stand shoulder to shoulder against your hatred and bigotry.

Jonna Ramey, Salt Lake City.