Brandon Ferdig's July 5 commentary "As people push ideals, there's a need for nuance" was presumably in response to a blog post by my Denver business, BookBar, responding to the negative comments we received after being vandalized by a member of a white supremacist group. I say "presumably" because Ferdig's opinion does not square with the blog he is referring to.

I am the author of that blog, and while I absolutely agree with Ferdig that nuance is increasingly lost in debates in our current political landscape, I am left to wonder if (1) he really is implying that there is some gray area in the question of whether it is ever OK for any group to vandalize a business for hosting an event with which that group does not agree or (2) if he completely misunderstood the context of the blog.

At the risk of missing out on any possible nuance in providing only two reasons for his commentary, I am at a loss to guess what else he may be suggesting. If our blog had been in response to people who disagree with the concept of a Drag Queen Storytime, he would certainly have a point. It is absolutely OK to disagree and to start a dialogue based on disagreement. But that is not what BookBar's blog was about. If one actually reads it, it was a targeted response to the negative comments we received after being vandalized. I fail to see any gray area there.

Let me be very clear about this, and I hope most readers agree: It is never OK to vandalize a business just because you do not agree with its business philosophy. Full stop.

I can't imagine that Ferdig was suggesting that vandalism and that anyone supporting that vandalism is ever OK, so I have to assume that he was just woefully confused about our message.

If he had wanted to demonstrate where nuance is needed in public discourse, there are millions of other appropriate examples. Again, supporting vandalism by a white supremacist is not one. With news stories of these kinds of attacks rising across the country, it is imperative that each and every one of us stand up and shout unequivocally that we will not be intimidated by white supremacists. And whether or not you agree with what they might be targeting is a moot point in a democracy.

The one thing that we should all be able to agree with is that we all have a right to live, play, do business, raise our children and attend events that line up with each of our personal interests and philosophies — without being terrorized. If we lose that, we lose life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Ferdig's commentary is just the kind of dog-whistle that is such a threat to our democracy at this time in our history. And it needs to be called out for what it is.

Nicole Sullivan is the owner of BookBar, a bookstore and wine bar in Denver.