Letters: KC readers discuss late Super Bowl congrats, DIY masks and chance for reset
Belated kudos
It’s taken time for me to watch the last part of the Super Bowl. At the time, I was happy for Chiefs coach Andy Reid, but the loss for the 49ers — so near and yet so far away — stung for a long time.
However, I want to say hats off to Kansas City. Well done.
- Peter Fitzgerald, San Francisco
Shocking attack
I am a Navy veteran of the Vietnam era, and I served proudly. After reading of the relieving of Navy Capt. Brett Crozier from his command of the USS Theodore Roosevelt and the even more grotesque message to his crew by our “esteemed” acting secretary of the Navy, I was so appalled that I am almost ashamed to say I served. (April 8, 8A, “Acting Navy boss resigns amid COVID-19 uproar”)
If you are a military vet, I hope you feel the same. My dad was a Navy veteran and a Pearl Harbor survivor who also served proudly. He’s probably turning over in his grave.
- Marshall Cruce, Cleveland, Missouri
Business first
It began when the Missouri legislature and Gov. Mike Parson passed the law that school couldn’t start until after businesses sucked every last dollar out of Missouri vacationers. It continues now as Parson refuses to take a tough stance on a stay-at-home order. (April 7, 1A, “Health experts question Parson’s stay-at-home order”)
These are Parson’s true colors: business suit black and gray. That is worth remembering however we vote in November. This governor cares more about money than the health of the people in our state and perpetuates the idea that COVID-19 isn’t that bad.
Governor, you’ve been watching people for a while now. How can you believe everyone will “do the right thing” if you’re not willing to?
- Kris McArtor, Kansas City
No-mask folly
If you need more evidence that President Donald Trump’s decisions are driven by ego and vanity — besides his hair, his face toner with white circles around his eyes, his long ties to make him look thinner, his string of younger wives, never admitting fault, lashing out at anyone who questions him and boasting about the television ratings of his coronavirus updates — now he won’t wear a mask. (April 4, 1A, “CDC urges people to cover their faces when in public”)
Heads of state, dictators and presidents will refuse to visit him out of a sense of self-preservation. Trump won’t wear a mask apparently because he thinks it would make him look silly. He is such a comical distraction every day.
- Richard R Schultz, Independence
Masks for all
With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urging members of the public to cover their faces, we need a term for these face coverings that distinguishes them from medical face masks such as N95 masks. I coined the term Community Protective Face Mask, or CPFM, for this reason.
A CPFM is made from materials found in most households to reduce droplet transmission that occurs when we speak, cough or sneeze. Unlike an N95, it does not have to seal because COVID-19 in the general population is thought to be spread by droplets, not aerosols.
A double layer of T-shirt material is enough, as is tightly woven cotton such as a bed sheet, bandanna or dish towel. Simple household tools such as scissors, staples, safety pins and a ruler can be used to make CPFMs. Because of this, the masks cost little to nothing.
The emphasis on “community” encourages connection and goodwill because my mask protects you and your mask protects me. Our entire country can rally around making CPFMs. Search the hashtag #masks4all. YouTube provides links to videos.
I encourage sewers and crafters to make medical face masks for health care professionals and others to donate any they have to their local hospitals.
- Bethany Klug, Kansas City
Another chance?
What if the world is being brought to its knees, ravaged by disease, to give us a second chance to do it right this time?
What if the United States, the wealthiest country on the planet, decided to start from scratch to create that “more perfect union”? Surely there would not be so many black, brown, yellow and white people living in poverty with little access to affordable health care or an effective education system.
Let us use this time of social isolation to ponder how we can build a new society that is fair, just and filled with opportunities for everyone, with a special emphasis on families. How can we capture the wisdom of all that history has to teach us? Maybe we could turn to our noted historians.
Before our planet disappears, let us become a testimony to the worthiness of the human race.
- SuEllen Fried, Prairie Village
This story was originally published April 9, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Letters: KC readers discuss late Super Bowl congrats, DIY masks and chance for reset."