Letters: KC readers discuss photos of needles, Trump’s good work, MLB doubleheaders
Don’t make us look
I have joined some friends and family members in refusing to look at vaccinations. It is not that we are against them; we are all fully vaccinated. It is counterintuitive to urge people who fear needles to get vaccinated, then deluge them with close-up pictures of a needle going into someone’s arm.
The first three or four months of these images in the media seemed acceptable to transmit the message of vaccinations being a simple procedure. But day after day, month after month of the same thing kills the message. It is in the newspapers, on television, in magazines — everywhere you turn.
So, we have decided to record all newscasts and fast-forward through all COVID-19 stories, or if we’re watching a live broadcast, to change channels. It’s simple with print media: We turn the page and ignore all the articles alongside it.
We would like to have everyone vaccinated, but these pictures discourage it. Please stop the close-up pictures of needles puncturing arms.
- Lee Hankins, Blue Springs
Owed a big thanks
If we have had our vaccines and can discard our masks, we have a lot of people to thank. One person we should toast for making this moment happen is Donald J. Trump.
- Roberta Newth, Leawood
Closer to home
I respectfully disagree with the author of a May 14 letter to the editor who suggested naming the new terminal at Kansas City International Airport for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (8A). To the best of my knowledge, King had no particular ties to Kansas City.
I think the new terminal should be named for someone from the area. The Kansas City area was home to a U.S. president. Missouri was the home of John J. Pershing, one of the nation’s two Generals of the Armies, and Omar Bradley, a General of the Army and first chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Since Missouri residency is evidently not a prerequisite, Kansas was home to another U.S. president. (Although Wichita has taken his name for its airport, we could use it for our terminal,)
But the best choice of all, perhaps, is an aviation pioneer and true icon from just up the river in Atchison: Amelia Earhart.
With a little thought and research, I’m sure other deserving candidates can be found. Dr. King certainly deserves to be honored, but the terminal should bear the name of someone with closer ties to the city.
- Thomas Costello, Lansing
This is baseball?
I am nearly 70 years old and have been a baseball fan since I was a kid. At this point, I am done with baseball.
Having not paid much attention to the game last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was not aware of the asinine rule changes until listening to the Royals game last Friday. Seven-inning doubleheaders? Really? So these overpaid, overhyped, entitled prima donnas can’t even play a nine-inning game anymore?
This is the last straw. Seven-inning doubleheaders and placing a runner on second base to begin every extra inning is an insult to the tradition of the game and completely beyond comprehension. What’s next, a home run derby to decide games that go beyond 10 innings?
These rule changes are even more nonsensical than the shootout in hockey. Seven-inning doubleheaders — wow. Poor Ernie Banks (who loved playing doubleheaders), must be turning over in his grave.
- Mark White, Independence