Letters to the editor (April 9, 2020)

No worse than flu

Various levels of government are operating in panic mode and not being effective at disease control.

Stop the draconian measures enacted for COVID-19. COVID-19 has the same symptoms and effects of the flu, including targeting the most vulnerable population, that we experience every year. None of the measures have stopped the flu season or reduced fatalities. The country is waiting for the same change in weather to end the flu season and COVID-19. What purpose can be served by disrupting people’s lives and ruining the economy?

The country does not take the same measures for the flu season that kills an average of 40,000 people and requires over 200,000 hospitalizations. Nor was it done for the swine flu, bird flu, Ebola or HIV infections. Let the people do what is the only effective measure: If you are sick, stay home. If you’re well, stay away from sick people.

Prove to the people that COVID-19 is any worse than the flu and will be more destructive, or stop being irrational.

Leonard Pitts

Regarding Leonard Pitts’ recent opine:

It is too bad that despite his education and eloquence, Mr. Pitts doesn’t recognize that his comments disdaining conservative business and individuals promotes the racism and bigotry he seeks to eradicate. Perhaps there still are societal advances to be made, but you can’t demand or buy respect; you have to earn it.

Music at Century II

Thank you for the positive stories during this virus invasion. I especially enjoyed the neighbors who sang from their front porches. Music is needed now, more than ever. It not only lifts spirits, but it also keeps our lungs engaged.

That reminds me about the Wurlitzer organ at Century II. I understand that there is no one now who knows how to move it. If Century II is razed, the organ will be lost forever.

Yes, we need a new concert venue. But let’s keep Century II and use it for restaurants and shops. Kansas City and Salt Lake City have turned their old railroad stations into stores and movie theaters. We can fill Century II with places to visit while using the river or eating before a concert. And it would be a dandy place for organ recitals or showing silent movies again.

Coronavirus measures

Thank you, Gov. Laura Kelly, for listening to the scientists and having the foresight and courage to implement policies to protect our health and welfare. Those who object and try to limit the governor’s emergency powers remind me of children throwing temper tantrums. They refuse to hear science and risk our welfare based on their misguided, selfish dogmas.

Stop burning

Come on, Kansas ranchers: Stop burning your fields, especially in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak. I suffer from asthma, and the blanket of smoke in Andover and east Wichita has greatly exacerbated my condition — without coronavirus — to the point of causing extreme difficulty breathing. What if your selfish burning is what makes the difference between life and death for coronavirus victims?

I’m shocked that the Kansas Department of Health and Environment has not shut down this archaic practice completely. My hue and cry is that there will be an immediate statewide order issued to stop the burning, not just now, but in the future. We are letting a handful of folks pollute our air, and they may be putting the health of millions of Kansans in jeopardy.