I want to convey a recent experience of friends of mine here in Portsmouth that I believe should be brought to the attention of others, if not for sheer awareness than anything else.

Sept. 3 — To the Editor:



I want to convey a recent experience of friends of mine here in Portsmouth that I believe should be brought to the attention of others, if not for sheer awareness than anything else. These friends of mine identify with the Free State Project movement. While they are used to dealing with run-of-the-mill criticism, they are peace- and liberty-loving individuals who recently suffered some blatant discrimination on behalf of a well-connected individual that has affected them trying to build a life here in the Seacoast. It made me very sad. I've paraphrased the story below.



"A few months ago, my husband and I were trying to buy a house. We met with the owner and her family and signed a contract. All was fine until the owner's friend, an attorney, decided to get involved. I guess she Googled my husband and found some videos or articles about being a Free Stater, and then began whispering to the owner that we were "tea partiers" and not worthy of paying a large sum of money for the property.



"Soon after, the contract fell through — we learned it was because friends of the lawyer wanted to put an offer on the same house — and we moved on with our lives. It was clearly discriminatory but not really a problem we wanted to address. If they wanted the house so bad, they could have it.



"I just happened to call our landlord over our broken dryer, and she opened by telling me that this woman ... the lawyer ... had apparently knocked on the door of her home and started asking questions about us. When the landlord (rightfully kind of skeptical and scared) gave a great character review and said we have been ideal tenants, the lawyer asked if she knew about our political beliefs."



To further quote my friend, it's kind of funny that those who preach "equality" and "change" are so offended and scared by those with whom they are unfamiliar.



Jason Walls



Portsmouth