Letters and feedback: Nov. 27, 2021
Rating New York vs. Florida on COVID
I found it interesting reading letter writer Al Genchi’s views on who fought COVID the best: New York vs. Florida. My memory offers a different scenario than his.
Many of us Floridians tried to get vaccinated last January when the local Health Department started giving appointments for the vaccine. I am not sure how but hundreds of cars with New York license plates drove through to get vaccine shots designated for Florida residents while we watched. Folks started coming to Florida from up and down the U.S. East Coast. I know many of us were up at 5 a.m. trying to make appointments only to find the list full within seconds.
When I asked the Health Department why the non-residents were lining up here, I was told that Gov. DeSantis said anyone who was in the state of Florida was eligible for the vaccine. So, it meant that some local citizens waited over a month to actually get vaccinated with our first shot. I took my husband in a wheelchair to the VA and found New Yorkers changing their VA designation location from upstate to the Melbourne VA. It took us two days to get through the rude, pushy crowd until he finally got a shot.
Since COVID was at its highest in New York at the time Mr. Genchi mentions, who do you think might have brought the virus here?
Sally Vangsness, Melbourne Beach
Research CRT before expounding on it
There’s an adage that’s at least 120 years old that suggests it is better to hold one’s tongue and be thought a fool, than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt. I think that Ms. Sharpe, Mr. Sharpe, and Ms. Estridge of the Brevard Republican Executive Committee, based on their recent letter to the editor, would do well to reflect on that wisdom.
Instead of relying on hearsay from naysayers, they should practice intellectual honesty by doing their own independent research. I would recommend "Critical Race Theory: An Introduction" to learn exactly what the theory holds. Then and only then can we engage in a meaningful discussion.
As a brief education, they and their ilk assume that “racist” means a white person doing or saying bad things to Black persons. That indeed is racist, but alas, it’s only the tip of the iceberg. “Racism” is a lot more than that, and requires in-depth study. That study requires time. It also emotionally charged.
If they think that racism is not alive in American institutions, read this sample of Bank of America paying the Justice Department $335 million in 2013 for discrimination against qualified Black and Latino mortgage loan applicants:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bank-of-america-settles-discrimination-suit-for-335m/.
The bank’s actions occurred between 2004 and 2008, decades after Dr. King’s pronouncements. One would think a bank full of smart executives would have gotten the hint a long time ago.
And, by the way, Black people don’t want to rewrite American history, but they sure would like to see more of it exposed to public view.
Francis Clifford, Suntree
Gun laws need major overhaul
We need to take either "open carry" or "stand your ground" laws off the books. One gives license to the other to murder and maim with impunity, and successfully argue self-defense by claiming fear for your own life. Who can prove you were not fearful, regardless of motive?
Recently acquitted Kyle Rittenhouse killed two and maimed one while fearing for his underage life because he opted to open carry his "cool" AR-15 in the face of constitutionally protected protesters.
Ahmaud Arbery, when jogging while Black, was stalked, stopped, confronted, and murdered by one of a group of white men in trucks, the father of whom had just told Arbery “Stop or I'll blow your f***ing head off." The defense for the aggressor and murderer is “I feared for my life."
This country has a big problem when Rittenhouse is immediately hailed as a hero by Republican lawmakers and white nationalist groups and websites (vdare.com). In fact, Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), and Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) have offered Rittenhouse an internship. Tucker Carlson had a film crew at the trial, then glorified him this past week on his show.
It's insane that there are more guns than people in the country, and laws allowing open carry of military-style rifles, with the legal "get out of jail card" of claiming "fear for my life."
We need to return to universal conceal carry by permit, and restrict military-grade weapons to inside the house that you are legally protecting. Is that really too big an ask?
Jeff Dorman, Satellite Beach
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Letters and feedback: Nov. 27, 2021
