I left my grandmother’s home on Sept. 25 and saw something that sent shivers up my spine.

I was turning onto L.A. Avenue from Yosemite and a fairly new Ford truck made the turn as well. Attached to the truck were two huge flags; one was the American flag, the other was a Confederate flag. These were huge, 5-foot-by-4-foot flags blowing in the wind.

The Confederate flag is a symbol of hate and intolerance, not a symbol that is remembering history. That is akin to saying the swastika is historical so it should be a part of the German flag. Nonsense. People were brutally murdered and enslaved under the philosophy of the Confederacy.

Look at the statistics. Extreme right-wing fanatical neo-Nazi groups and crimes are skyrocketing all over this country. Crimes against Jews, blacks, Middle Easterners, homosexuals, Asians, Latinos are reaching all-time highs and predicted to get worse.

Anytime progress is around the corner some people freak out, spreading lies and often misinformation filled with tons of fabrication, i.e., this whole healthcare debacle is adding fuel to the fire of hate for the neo-Nazi skinheads.

Scared, right-wing spreaders of extreme phobias are organized and starting a wave of panic among all who will listen to “reclaim” this country; some include commentators in the mainstream media; some fuel the flames of these neo-Nazi types.

They have the right to free speech, but be smart and turn them and others like them off. We cannot stand down in the face of this hate.

All of us need to pay attention and stand up against hate and at the same time be mindful of the upswing in hate crimes and take measures to be safe, especially if you are a minority. These are scary times, but things will get better.

History tells us that after the fire and rage passes, progress is made and firmly established in this great country of ours.

We just cannot let these hatefilled ideologues scare us into backing down. Their ideas often lead down the path of a “separate but equal” mentality.

As Blessed Pope John XXIII said, “We must beware of those who burn with zeal but are not endowed with much sense.” Jacob Clark Simi Valley