Letters: Readers discuss Safehome, Colin Kaepernick’s protest and a vision for KCI’s future
Safehome’s role
Like all proud parents, my husband Alex and I want the best for our children. We envision a future where they pursue their dreams and reach their full potential. We want all families to be happy and safe.
As a social worker, however, I know that every day in the Kansas City area, women, men and children are living a nightmare called domestic violence. When I was in graduate school, I spent three years working at Safehome, the domestic violence agency in Johnson County. I provided advocacy for residents in the shelter and answered the hotline.
Something that stood out to me was how big a need there is for services in Johnson County. Though many think of Johnson County as a wealthy community immune from such crimes, the rates of domestic violence are just as high as in other parts of the area.
I saw women come to Safehome with nothing but the clothes on their backs. They were unable to look me in the eye because they were broken down physically and emotionally. However, it was so fulfilling to watch them grow and heal during their stay at Safehome.
I feel fortunate to be part of a community that values services for victims of domestic violence and their children. That is why I have continued to stay involved and provide support. Please contact Safehome’s hotline at 913-262-2868 or go to www.safehome-ks.org for information, shelter and support.
Jamie Gordon
Kansas City
Editor’s note: Jamie is a master’s level social worker and the wife of Alex Gordon of the Kansas City Royals.
Why they fight
In his May 27 guest column, “Those who serve in uniform deserve respect, not offense,” (17A) Joe Warren spends a great deal of effort denigrating football player Colin Kaepernick, who he feels has offended the police and those who serve in the military by kneeling during the national anthem and by wearing socks that portrayed pigs in police hats.
My father, a Marine, fought and died on Iwo Jima. On that day, March 14, 1945, more that 200 Marines died in battle. I believe my father was fighting for our ability to point out the inequities in our society, as part of the freedoms that we seem now to cherish only if they are in harmony with our own.
If not standing for our national anthem disqualifies a person of talent from playing football, then we have become the very thing our forefathers came to this country to escape.
David N. Anderson
Manhattan, Kan.
Cost of growth
While Dave Trabert empirically tries to prove in his May 29 guest commentary “Debunking the myth of Kansas tax avoidance” (11A) that the small-business tax exemptions are working as intended in Kansas, eventually concluding that the only significant job growth was due to the exemptions to small businesses, he advances a bigger, but unanswered, question: If this is what it takes to stimulate job growth in Kansas, is job growth something Kansas can afford?
Michael Wheeler
Kansas City
Move ahead
One only has to look to failed cities such as Detroit to understand that flexibility, forward thinking and a willingness to take risks are essential to the well-being of a city. Kansas City was on the verge of becoming another Detroit until progressive and daring decision-making enlivened the future of downtown.
Kay Barnes had a vision, and this vision has been extended by Mayor Sly James. Yes, we all know that there have been bumps in the road, but this comes with any bold plan to strengthen the future of a great city.
It is time once again to be bold, to bring Kansas City solidly into the 21st century. It is again time to broaden our vision and to embrace change, even with its imperfections and bumps along the way.
Build a new airport. KCI is our front door. Good first impressions are important in attracting visitors, new business and new jobs. It is time to reimagine and to build anew.
A new convention hotel is needed and will attract more conventions and dollars. Expand light rail. The Plaza, Westport and Brookside will prosper from it.
I thank the visionaries and investors in Kansas City.
Patrick Orlich
Weatherby Lake
Wrong focus
We should be worried about not the Russians but the left-wing media that are trying to run President Donald Trump out of office. Their weapon of choice is freedom of speech. This is not fair to Trump or the people who voted for him. Worst of all is comparing the president to the worst person ever: Adolf Hitler. This is my freedom of speech.
Robert Gebauer
Raymore