Letters: Readers talk Trump, narcissism, safety pins, suicide prevention, journalism and those classy Royals
A careful look
I’ve known about Donald Trump for 30-plus years through my son-in-law’s grandfather, a big insurance agent in New York who had Donald’s father as a client.
Each time they went back to visit family, it was “Guess what Donald’s done now.”
His father was a self-made multimillionaire. But Donald’s narcissism led him to do things his way. He took advice from no one and made one bad decision after the other.
His projects were more about making him look like a star than about making money.
He tells people what they want to hear (whether what he says is true is immaterial) or things to make him look great.
Some foreign leaders think he’s an idiot.
But he is not an idiot. He is very clever and deceptive.
When you listen to him, you must put on your narcissistic hearing aids, and then he makes sense. You must also correctly identify who his true audience is.
His cabinet picks are people he trusts to follow his “superior” decisions, not to give him advice. Or they may be window dressing with no power.
Mary Zerby
Kansas City
Safety-pin truths
Cheers to The Star, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Kansas National Education Association for pointing to the true intent of the safety pins worn by individuals — symbols to signify that the wearer is a safe person to turn to.
This anti-bullying statement to assure the vulnerable that safety exists is not political.
Jeers to the Shawnee Mission School District, Superintendent Jim Hinson and NEA-Shawnee Mission for a spineless response to some parents in the district complaining because they misinterpreted this symbol.
I am hard pressed to believe any teacher or staff member in the Shawnee Mission School District is advancing a political agenda by telling students that a safe person to reach out to, talk to or take shelter with is in front of them by wearing a safety pin.
I would think the school district would have more important issues to address, such as falling graduation rates, budget shortfalls and paying staff a living wage, instead of stifling the freedom of speech of staff trying to communicate a caring message.
Joe Gilman
Lee’s Summit
Suicide prevention
I am the newly elected board president of Headquarters Counseling Center, a National Suicide Prevention Lifeline crisis center that serves people from all over Kansas.
Our programs are operated by volunteer counselors. We answer more than 20,000 calls a year.
Because of federal and state cuts, HQ might have to turn off our phone lines Dec. 31 after 40 years.
I am honored and humbled to serve as president in this very financially-challenging time.
I take this role to heart. My limitless passion and caring and my countless conversations with friends have not been enough.
I need your help. HQ needs you. And more important, our callers need you.
Headquarters’ future is uncertain and the path forward is dark, but that is when HQ has always been there — supporting others at the darkest of times.
And I know we, together, can carry this important agency forward into a better time.
Donate at headquarterscounselingcenter.org and ask friends to donate.
This is the moment our mission is on the line. It will take all of us working together to answer the call.
Scott Criqui
Lawrence
Photo equality?
While reading the news, I was struck by the fact that although The Star routinely includes pictures those committing violent crimes, those who embezzle, forge or commit identity theft are rarely pictured.
Why not include a picture of Patrica Webb, for example (11-23, A4, “Payroll manager admits to $1.5 million embezzlement from two major KC-area employers”)?
These crimes are just as damaging to the community.
Lynne Crossette
Overland Park
Royals’ class
I was in tears as I was reading what the Royals did for Caleb Schwab’s family (11-26, A1, “How the Royals gave Caleb Schwab’s family their best day since their worst day”).
The Royals are a class act. That was an amazing thing to do for that grieving family.
The Royals are not only great ball players, they are wonderful people. I am so glad we have a team like this representing this city.
Diana McCully
Lee’s Summit
Do-over time
If multiple parties in the recent election believe there was widespread fraudulent voting, maybe we should all just start over. I’d vote for that.
Charles Barnes
Kansas City
A challenge
During President-elect Donald Trump’s nasty and divisive campaign, he promised to “make America great again.”
Well, I challenge him to start leading by example and bring all his products that are produced in foreign countries back to the already-great United States of America.
I do not believe that all the companies doing business in Mexico and overseas are going to bring their business back to America. Corporations doing business outside the great United States do not care about the people of the United States. All they care about is almighty dollar.
When you mix capitalism with greed, you get the situation we have in the United States — all the good manufacturing jobs leaving for third world countries, exploiting all the cheap labor corporations can find.
So my challenge is to Trump: Lead by example.
Dennis Parker
Lee’s Summit
This story was originally published November 29, 2016 at 8:29 PM with the headline "Letters: Readers talk Trump, narcissism, safety pins, suicide prevention, journalism and those classy Royals."