People who become pregnant don't always have a choice
Pregnancy isn't always a choice
In Robert Pippin’s letter to the editor (May 17) regarding the cartoon depicting an assault gun and a uterus, he suggested pregnancy and abortion both result from “decision(s) made by the owner” of a uterus.
I find this ludicrous. What “decision” will a woman be allowed to make about her body if Roe v. Wade is reversed? What “decision“ does a rape victim have?
Apparently a woman needs to be able to fire bullets from her uterus in order to be protected by law.
Ardis Glace, Palm Springs
What about all the other Black victims of violence?
Eileen Rivers, a USA Today opinion editor, writes that because our schools don’t teach about our racial past, whites kill out of hate (Column, May 18).
What happened in Buffalo is indeed a tragedy. Much has yet to be learned about the 18-year-old white shooter. But as we have learned so far, mental illness is the primary cause of this event, not something that wasn’t taught in school. The warning signs were there, but not fully acted upon. This is the lesson learned. It is not a mystery.
But here is the mystery to me: The outrage in the Black community over this is clear. Black lives matter. But this outrage seems to be selective. Where is the outrage in the Black community when Blacks kill Blacks in high numbers every weekend in Chicago?
Aren’t those Black lives important? Why don’t the Rev. Al Sharpton and lawyer Benjamin Crump show up for weekly press conferences in Chicago about those Black lives? Are they not as important as the lives lost recently in Buffalo?
The Black community has a lot of problems to be solved. The solutions will not likely be found in courses taught in school about slavery.
Paul Forrest, La Quinta
Broken HR practices add to labor shortage
Re: "How to Solve labor shortage: Require work for welfare" (Guest column, May 10)
Instead of finger-pointing and calling poor people lazy, perhaps there are other reasons for the labor shortage. Suggesting training programs is a wonderful idea, but in a broken world with inhumane systems that don't serve people, conceivably, many simply give up.
A good friend of mine lost his job during the pandemic. Being 58, he experienced inhumane algorithms and age discrimination (it's perfectly legal for employers to ask when you graduated from college and do the math). He applied to well over 100 positions. He then reached out to an EDD work coach and got approved for a training program. Four weeks into the program, he received an EDD form letter stating they were cutting his training support, and it was impossible to talk to a live person.
There is nothing humane about HR. Applicant tracking systems kick out resumes if they don't match 70% to 85% of the words in the posting, even if the verb tense is incorrect.
The laziness in these systems is that transferrable skills go unrecognized, or people get pigeonholed. A labyrinth of rules, laws and practices makes it very difficult for HR to actually hire anyone. Of course, HR will always have job security.
James Holloway, Palm Springs
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Abortion debate: Pregnancy isn't always a choice | Letters
