Letters: KC readers discuss charitable police, toxic parents, Eric Schmitt’s fights
A number of volunteers, along with many officers of the Kansas City Police Department, distributed clothing, toys and more than 250 turkeys to many Kansas City residents at the East Patrol Station on Saturday morning. Included in the roster of officers was Chief Rick Smith, who was dressed as an ordinary civilian helper and contributed to the effort.
After we concluded our work at East Patrol, we still had a number of Christmas turkeys available for distribution. Police officers in their cars were dispatched to bus stops in the area to deliver this food to unsuspecting residents.
I am disappointed that I did not read in The Star about these efforts by our police to assist in responding to the needy at this time of the year. Instead of constantly informing readers of misconduct by a few officers, perhaps to be fair and balanced, such events should be covered.
- Mike Svetlic, Kansas City
Teach them well
In the Dec. 18 front-page story, “Johnson County teacher pleads for parent support,” teacher Dianne O’Bryan expressed her frustration with toxic parents. There is frustration too on the part of the students. I am 79 years old, and I was taught to hate school by the third grade.
By contrast, it wasn’t until at age 61, as I was taking a vocational class in a community college, that I heard this sort of instruction from an educator: “That is not exactly right. Let me show you how to fix it.”
Ms. O’Bryan, in case you don’t recognize it, that is encouragement for the education process.
- Rich Flynn, Huntington Beach, California
Really left out
I have some thoughts about Michael Ryan’s Dec. 17 column, “Why are conservatives left out of the violence debate?” (9A)
The U.S. is so awash in guns that other countries whom we regard as allies point to us in bewildered horror, unable to comprehend why we allow and encourage gun proliferation among our people when it results in so much carnage. Yet so-called “conservative” voters routinely elect officials who oppose and prevent the passage of even moderate gun control legislation.
The people Ryan quotes as representing conservative thought don’t seem to bring much to the table, other than bemoaning a “disdain for law and order” and suggesting that criminal behavior “has been tolerated far too long.” This is essentially an argument for more police and, probably, more prisons. People who argue along these lines are usually recipients of white privilege, as I am, and aren’t willing to admit that for a huge section of the U.S. population, it has never been an equal playing field. Increasing police doesn’t address this reality.
If conservatives were really interested in positive change, they would throw their economic support behind “socialist” programs such as early childhood education and Head Start. Now, that might make a difference.
- Shane Smith, Olathe
Not his wheelhouse
It is hard for me, as a physician, to understand how Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, trained in law but not in public health or medicine, feels justified in issuing edicts to stop mandatory masking and relevant quarantines for COVID-19. This follows his recently suing the federal government against a vaccine mandate for health care workers in Medicare and Medicaid programs.
These practices seem of even more concern as the numbers of COVID-positive cases rise, with hospitals once more being inundated with cases, most of which sadly are in people who are not vaccinated.
School-age children who have not been vaccinated get their main protection through the use of masks and consistently will tolerate the use of masks without difficulty. Also of note are the Missouri health department regulations for vaccination of school-age children against other infections, including polio, which are not contested by our AG.
How is Schmitt’s legal posture anything more than inappropriate grandstanding for a segment of Missouri voters during his Senate campaign?
- Irene Bettinger, Kansas City