Letters to the Editor
DurianJoe
Published Letters: 1318 Editor's Choice: 69
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Identity politics
[Read the article: Say it loud: I'm elite and proud!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Sean,
I agree completely with you on identity politics. I think that is a bane on society. It is proper to agitate against legalized discrimination, e.g., the gay marriage issue, and also proper to agitate against public bigots (see Imus, Don), but beyond that identity politics is merely divisive and a distraction.
I do believe in class-based politics and governmental programs, e.g., affirmative action based on class, regardless of other factors. In my opinion, the wealthy do not need government help (they're wealthy!), the middle class needs services to maintain what I think is due everyone, i.e., a middle class level of life, bearing in mind environmental sustainability, and the poor should receive the most attention.
Taking care of the least among us benefits all of us. Unfortunately, we now exist under an administration that takes the exact opposite view, and the result is, surprise surprise, widespread misery and anger.
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Stand up to the bigots.
[Read the article: "It's like when 9/11 happened"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If you are Korean, please do not let your fear of possible bigoted retaliation alter your life. There probably are Neanderthals out there who now, instantly, hate Koreans and perhaps all Asians (the Freedom Fries crowd comes to mind). Don't give in to them. There are many, many more decent people who will side with you against the haters.
We are with you, and against those who would do you harm.
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We outnumber the gun fanatics
[Read the article: Why Democrats dumped gun control]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Democrats and remaining moderate Republicans need to wake up: city and suburban dwellers outnumber rural dwellers. We who live in the cities and suburbs are sick to death of gun violence, and we're sick to death of Congress cowering in the face of the NRA. The NRA does not represent a majority of Americans.
I understand why people who live in rural areas want guns. They hunt, and they are concerned about their security. So, what's wrong with owning a rifle or shotgun to satisfy both needs? Do rural dwellers need semi-automatic weapons? Do they need military style assault weapons? Of course not.
The problem with the NRA and other gun fanatics is that, apparently, they do not give a damn about the high gun murder rates in the cities. They care more about some guy in the middle of nowhere who wants his gun, despite the fact that this extreme demands for minimal gun regulation result in the murders of thousands in the cities, and the occasional mass murders like that at Virginia Tech.
We need gun control in this country. People who like to shoot at targets or kill animals for food & fun will still have guns available to them, as will people who feel the need to carry a gun to protect them from crime. They just can't assault weapons, and they just can't get a gun at a gun show or instantly at a gun store.
The Virginia Tech killer was a mentally disturbed young man who bought two semi-autos as easily as you can buy a loaf of bread. He then murdered 32 people. There's your victory, NRA. Congratulations. You keep America safe for criminals and crazies.
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Poco
[Read the article: Why Democrats dumped gun control]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]What is this "we" stuff. Just who do you think owns guns in this country? Upper class yuppies? Republicans? Bankers?
What on Earth made you write that? It's the opposite of my point. While I'm sure that some yuppies and bankers own guns, and Republican males, being power-worshipping know-nothings, obviously own guns, resistance to gun control tends to come from rural and Southern states, but the people in that camp do not represent the majority of Americans.
If you think otherwise, 'tis you who lives in a bubble.
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For Poco: Gun control versus gun ownership
[Read the article: Why Democrats dumped gun control]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Poco, you misunderstand things I've written. I wrote that resistance to gun control tends to come from rural areas and the South, and I stand by that, regardless of how many people own guns in Detroit.
The self-selected liberals on Salon who write in about how they own guns do not detract from my point about gun control -- not gun ownership. I say this as someone who is in the market for a shotgun to put with my emergency supplies and keep their for only dire circumstances. I'm a liberal and a soon-to-be shotgun owner, and I support gun control.
Right now we live in a country where a crazy young man can go to a pawn shop and buy a semiautomatic weapon and then murder dozens of people at a college. We need some real and effective gun control in this country.
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The NRA can go straight to hell.
[Read the article: The NRA view of school shootings, in pictures]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The board and members of the NRA loves handguns more than they love their children. Their children can die for all they care, so long as they can hold their precious steel manhoods in their pathetic grasping hands.
And we, the people of the United States, allow these power-worshipping fiends and moral degenerates to dictate our gun control policies.
The rest of the world looks upon us with a combination of pity and horror. Who can blame them?
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Rape, murder, and vigilance.
[Read the article: Tough titties]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Nobody deserves to be raped or murdered or beat up or robbed, but we all know it happens to people every day. Ms. Valenti argues that women should not be hypervigilant, to which I reply, sometimes they should be. Sometimes we all should be. So many violent crimes can be avoided if people are just aware of their surroundings. Are you walking back to your car in the middle of an "empty" parking lot? Is there a van parked next to your driver's side door? Pay attention! There could be a creep inside, ready to throw open the van door and pull you inside. That is an actual technique used by some very bad people.
All people need to be empowered, but women especially in this violent and misogynistic culture. Be vigilant, women, and if your spidey sense is tingling, be hypervigilant!
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Anonymous
[Read the article: Tough titties]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]In an ideal world, you'd be right. In this world, I'm right.