Letters: KC readers discuss ‘offensive’ license plates, first-time voting, mental health
Equal offenses
Regarding the flap over Kansas recalling the so-called “offensive” license-plate letter combination NGA, I, too, am offended. (Nov. 2, 7A, “Kansas vehicle owners risk tickets for state’s own racial ‘slur’”)
Being of Irish/Italian/German/Blackfoot Indian descent, I think the combinations of MIC, WOP, KRT and SVG must also be dropped for equality’s sake. Better yet, exclude all letters and go to bar codes so as not to offend anyone.
- Tony Bradley, Kansas City
A red alert
When a volunteer vote counter needs a bodyguard to get to the car because of presidential statements, that is when I become terrified.
- Joan Harrison, Kansas City
Future proof
Joe Biden’s plan to shift from fossil fuels to clean energy should be welcomed by all Americans. Opponents assert that the costs are too great and many jobs will be lost. Yet, the conversion to clean energy will create more well-paying jobs than it eliminates. Carbon-free wind and solar power will generate more jobs per dollar invested than fossil fuels.
Consider all the trees and homes lost to wildfires, the properties damaged by storms and flooding, and the threat to our food supplies caused by drought.
These costs are of such magnitude that we cannot ignore them. And such disruptions may soon become an existential threat to our way of life.
Despite our decision-makers’ reluctance to confront these realities, the public supports aggressive action. Numerous surveys show the vast majority of Americans are convinced that climate change is real and heat-trapping greenhouse gases must be reduced.
Although the subsidized oil and gas industry opposes such action, an aggressive shift to clean energy has never been more justified. The employment benefits, disaster and insurance savings, and energy efficiency gains would greatly exceed the costs.
- William Dudark, Overland Park
Gun responsibility
Homicides and gun violence are out of control. People are so quick to grab their guns to deal with disputes. There has been meeting after meeting on all levels of government about what to do, but nobody wants to talk about the elephant in the room: guns.
Everyone has one, some a whole arsenal with more than enough ammo. There are way too many guns readily available, legally or illegally.
We’re like the Wild West — everyone’s packing and not afraid to use it. Guns do kill, readily and permanently.
This is what needs to be addressed: It should be harder to get a gun. You should have to be older than 18, and no one needs an assault rifle. When you’re young, you don’t have the maturity to handle that power. Some people never have the discipline and maturity to own a firearm.
There need to be more screening and checks to own a gun. Guns need to be treated with respect and used responsibly.
- Kitty Pattee, Overland Park
Change approach
As I watched the video of Walter Wallace Jr., the man fatally shot during an encounter last month with Philadelphia police, my heart sank and tears welled up. (Oct. 28, 5A, “Police shooting sets off protests in Philadelphia”)
One does not need to be a mental health expert to see Wallace’s anguish. One does not need to be a mental health expert to see that someone who loved him was closely following him, imploring him to “put the knife down.”
Some will argue the police were doing their jobs, defending themselves from an assailant and responding as they had been trained. Others will argue to defund the police, citing decades of injustice toward people of color.
I urge us to think differently and with more compassion.
Instead of guns, we need people trained in deescalating conflict to respond to mental health calls. Instead of more prisons, we need expanded capacity in health care so people in mental health crises can access services immediately. Instead of judgment of those who are strong enough to admit they are suffering from mental illness, we need a willingness to start the conversation and support their recovery.
People with mental illness can and do get better. As a psychiatric nurse practitioner, I have the privilege to see the healing power of therapy, psychiatric medications and ongoing support for those who are mentally ill.
- Elizabeth Blanchard Hills, Kansas City
Memorable first
My daughter attends college in another state. She was on top of mail-in voting for Kansas. She made a timely request for a mail-in ballot online and checked its status daily. It was not mailed until Oct. 28, less than a week before the election.
When she told me Monday that her ballot still had not arrived in the mail, there was only one thing to do: I drove six hours to the town where she goes to school, picked her up from the dorm lobby and drove back to Kansas, where we arrived after 4 a.m. Tuesday, Election Day.
Later that morning, while in line to vote, my daughter got an email from her university stating that it had discovered an incident of mail tampering that was thought to be politically motivated. No other details were revealed. It had definitely been the right choice to return to Kansas to vote in person.
When my daughter reached the front of the line, the poll worker announced loudly, “We’ve got a first-time voter here!” and everyone in the room and line cheered and applauded.
My daughter will always remember the first time she voted.
- Gregg Ottinger, Bonner Springs
This story was originally published November 8, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Letters: KC readers discuss ‘offensive’ license plates, first-time voting, mental health."