Letters on police conflict, Trump’s darkness, college debt, Operation School Bell
Poverty part of conflict with police
Maybe I’m wrong, but it’s hard not to see the excessive-force conflict between police and African-Americans as partly an economic issue rather than a purely racial one.
Eric Garner was a street peddler who sold untaxed cigarettes on Staten Island. Alton Sterling sold CDs in front of a convenience store in Baton Rouge.
Philando Castile was driving an older car with a broken taillight in Minnesota. Amadou Diallo (shot 41 times at his front door) was a New York street vendor who, like Castile, was reaching for his wallet when police opened fire.
Where are the media stories about black doctors and attorneys driving new cars and living in upscale housing getting shot by police?
Way too many laws criminalize the poor rather than addressing legitimate crime. Police want society’s respect but don’t protest enforcing unjust laws that unfairly target the poor. Legislators who write unjust laws that brutally burden the poor need to be hearing negative feedback from police.
Instead, police defend their actions by using the worn-out excuse that “we don’t make the laws, we just enforce them.” This ignores the superseding moral force of situational ethics.
Maybe the better slogan would be “Poor Lives Matter.”
John Williamson, Wichita
Caring police
While the situation that brought about my encounter with a member of the Wichita Police Department was disconcerting, the session with the officer was reassuring.
The officer who came to my home to get information about a home burglary was very professional, yet interested in my living arrangements and me personally. We talked as if we were old friends. The encounter reinforced what I already knew: Wichitans are in the good, caring hands of many fine officers. Thank them and pray for their safety.
June Dirks, Wichita
Trump’s darkness
It’s this simple, folks. Are you going to walk into the dark? Or are you going to walk into the light?
Voting for Donald Trump is a decision to live with fear, with hate, with irrationality. Voting for Hillary Clinton is a decision that you believe in unity, that we are a great and courageous country, and that only by working together can we make the progress needed to continue on that path of greatness. It’s that simple.
If you disagree with me, that’s fine. But before you comment, do me a favor, and please watch both acceptance speeches. Pay attention to the audiences. At the end, Trump’s audience was beaten up and worn-out. Clinton’s was joyous and full of life and energy. Those were really good visuals on the way our country would respond to either presidency.
Gail Fisher, Wichita
Pay off debt?
There has been some advocacy lately about forgiving the debt of students who took loans to go to college. The typical debt has been quantified as about $30,000. That might sound like a burden until you consider that if they get a job with their college degree and want to buy their first new car, that’s about the size of the new debt they will accrue.
Of course, if they haven’t paid off the student loan, their indebtedness will double. So maybe we taxpayers should pay off that first loan and encourage the purchase of a suitable new auto. That would be good for the economy – unless we taxpayers then can’t afford the new car replacement we need.
Harry R. Clements, Wichita
What a gift
Thank you to members of the National Guard who volunteered several hours to move supplies from our Operation School Bell site to JCPenney at Towne West Square in preparation for the Assistance League of Wichita’s Operation School Bell program operation. The Assistance League is entering its 31st year of providing new clothing to students, pre-K through 12th grade, in the Wichita school district. We serve an average of 3,000 students every year and begin a partnership with the west JCPenney this school year.
The National Guard provided significant help, including trucks and personnel to move crates of hygiene kits that will be distributed with the clothing. What a gift.
Kathy L. Wilson, Wichita
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This story was originally published August 5, 2016 at 12:03 AM with the headline "Letters on police conflict, Trump’s darkness, college debt, Operation School Bell."