Readers sound off on disability discrimination, the West Indian Day Parade and Nikki Haley

In fighting the forgetting, don’t forget them

Brooklyn: Re “School critics seek to re-write America’s past” (op-ed, Aug. 29): I agree with Rod Driscoll’s description of the horrors of racial segregation. But I wonder why he left out the form of discrimination that can cross all races, ethnicities and sex: disability. Some students learn about Hellen Keller, maybe a paragraph of praise, but it is rare that students learn anything else about men and women with disabilities who made history.

For years, people with disabilities were regarded with pity and disgust. States passed “ugly” laws, forbidding people who were disfigured — i.e. crook-backed, without a limb or facially deformed — from appearing in public during daylight hours. Religious leaders warned that a child’s affliction was the manifestation of the parent’s past sins. Doctors advised parents to put her or him away.

Standard medical treatments were regularly denied to anyone who was disabled. In Hitler’s Germany, they were used in experiments and as scapegoats. Some were thrown into single rooms, windowless and without proper furniture or heat, made to double up in sordid conditions and fed from a trough like animals. Remnants of that treatment existed until the infamous coverage of the abuses at Willowbrook State School in the 1970s. At Letchworth Village, disabled residents who died were buried under a simple cement block with their case number etched into the concrete, not their name. Even in death, people were denied their identity.

Teaching students the full and sometimes ugly truths of this county’s bigotry toward so many people is part of learning from the past. It is about learning to lay aside our fears and working hard at being an accepting society. Ellen Mc Hugh

Island available

Brooklyn: Regarding the migrant situation that has been plaguing our city: In 1959, our country made the biggest mistake by closing Ellis Island. All levels of our government should get together and consider reopening that facility and refurnish all of the abandoned buildings to create housing and jobs on the island for migrants that are seeking asylum and a better life here in the U.S. Patrice Perticone

Without a care

Manhattan: It is tragic that the NYC Animal Care Centers have such indifference to the desperate need for adoption of animals in their care! They need to re-staff from the top down with people who care. Last year, in the dead of winter, I contacted them for help with a tiny kitten who was all alone in my neighborhood. The woman in charge refused to loan me a trap because she said it was a “neighborhood cat” and it should stay outside. Outrageous and unacceptable! It must change! Elaine Sloan

Eyeline assist

Brooklyn: To Voicer Dianne Stillman: I have a wonderful feature in my truck, it’s called a heads-up display. In the windshield, it shows you your speed and even the GPS navigation. I don’t know what car manufacturers offer this, but if you can get it on your next vehicle, it would certainly make life easier. Josie Oliveri

Unsafe celebration

Richmond Hill: Years ago, city officials didn’t want firefighters marching in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade because, according to them, firefighters got too drunk and acted disorderly. Recently, Mayor Adams said he will take action against the Electric Zoo festival organizers because of the chaos that ensued during the event. The St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Electric Zoo don’t compare to the carnage that the West Indian Day Parade causes annually. There hasn’t been a year where someone hasn’t gotten shot or stabbed. This year, a bullet went through the windshield of a fire truck that could’ve easily killed or injured one of us. It’s time for city officials to stop the hypocrisy and either discontinue or make strict changes to the parade. The event should be a day of love and festivities, not a day where your life is at risk. Francheisko Perez

Imagine that

Bronx: After reading the letter from Voicer Michael S. Wilbelkin (or was it Jussie Smollet?), only one thing came to mind: “Officer, I was on my way to the Blarney Stone at 1 a.m. when two leprechauns wearing MAGA hats…” Chuck Shannon

Numbers don’t lie

Bronx: Re “Lasting police reform is our biggest challenge” (op-ed, July 31): Robert Gangi points out the high number of arrests by the NYPD targeting poor people of color. The number is actually lower than the one he gives. The majority of violent crimes, gun arrests and gang-related crimes are among people of color, as are the majority of victims of violent crimes. Gangi can’t seem to understand why more people of color are arrested. Individual officers should be held accountable for their actions, but don’t demonize the whole department. Joseph Montuori

Union bust

Brooklyn: So, Mayor Adams pats himself on the back and touts himself as the “union mayor” because he was able to make a deal with various unions for new contracts. Yet, this is the same hypocrite who is selling short all city retirees by trying to force them to take an inferior Medicare Advantage plan in order to save NYC $600 million a year. Aetna lawyers admitted on the record that the new plan may deny or postpone approval for certain procedures. Traditional Medicare and a union supplement plan was a promise of employment to all city employees for many years, fought for by their unions. Be wary of a wolf in sheep’s clothing! What you enjoy (or think you have won) as a union benefit today can be taken away from you tomorrow! Remember this at voting time! Lori Rudolph

Imperialist hawk

Walhalla, S.C.: Nikki Haley is an opportunist with no real talent or depth, just a cheap neocon hack promoting entanglements in foreign conflicts that do not imperil U.S. national security, only promoting the military-industrial complex and the hordes of neocon pimps pushing for think-tank jobs or to feed from the trough. Her foreign policy record is a disaster, just like the rest in the neocon cabal who have ruined the reputation of the U.S.A. that far greater men spent centuries to establish. Dwight Eisenhower would not allow her to shine his shoes and would have no time for a shallow neocon hack pimping for the military-industrial complex. Gary Carter

Constitutional bar

Rockaway Point: Anyone who considers the events at the Capitol on Jan. 6 only a riot needs to listen to the interview given by retired Federal Appeals Judge J. Michael Luttig on “Frontline” about a year ago. His expertise on constitutional law is still sought today. It was Luttig’s knowledge of the powers of the vice president that Mike Pence used to guide his actions that day. Luttig is one of several prominent conservative scholars who have concluded that Donald Trump’s actions on Jan. 6 and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election bar him from running for president. An important takeaway from Luttig’s interview was that for the country to end its polarization, it needs to stop placing politics above constitutional law. He reminds us that our Founding Fathers realized the country could not rely on a politician’s good will to do what’s right for our country, hence the need for a Constitution. Patricia J. Murphy

Reviled resident

Rochdale Village: To Voicer Mark Jessee in Cincinnati re a famous man from New York City: We never wanted him. You can have him! Saul Rothenberg

Dropped service

Manhattan: Spectrum is in a fight with Disney and as a result, we are being deprived of Channel 7 and National Geographic Wild. Nevertheless, we are not getting a reduction in monthly charges. I don’t know or care what the fight is about, but I do care about not having channels I watch and having fees I should not be paying. I hope others will join this protest. Marcia Epstein

Format failures

Saddle Brook, N.J.: Please hire someone who is familiar with running a newspaper. Two- to three-inch margins make tiny print. The classifieds are a joke. The crossword puzzle in the back of Saturday’s paper is a joke. Try putting a letter in those tiny squares. Bring back the old page. I’m a 60-plus-year reader and $80 a month is disgraceful, but I guess I’m a glutton for punishment. M.J. Crandall