Fan calls out NFL for fining Patrick Mahomes over gesture but ignoring ‘tomahawk chop’ | Opinion

Ax the chop

Patrick Mahomes was fined by the NFL for what might have been interpreted as a “violent gesture” in celebration of a touchdown. (Nov. 25, KansasCity.com, “NFL fans lambaste the NFL for fining Patrick Mahomes’ for ‘violent gesture’”)

Yet the league has nothing to say about the “tomahawk chop” — also euphemistically referred to as the “Arrowhead chop” — which is both a violent gesture and a racial slur?

- Michael Childers, Kansas City

True ethics

As an alumnus of Rockhurst High School, I was deeply saddened by Melinda Henneberger’s column about the school’s firing of Jim Gillcrist. (Nov. 22, 6A, “Rockhurst High teacher fired over mass deportation remarks”)

The decision betrays a deep cowardice, and lack of dedication to Jesuit ideals, latent in the school’s administration. It also illustrates the administration’s hypocrisy. My favorite teacher at Rockhurst was a vocal conservative. I recall numerous in-class callouts from a history teacher when I expressed support for gay marriage, opposition to the death penalty or dissatisfaction with the George W. Bush administration and the Iraq War. Yet I did not complain to my parents or the school, because I was confident in my positions.

In its statement on the firing, Rockhurst cites its policy that teachers shouldn’t discuss politics in the classroom. If this policy were equally enforced, many of my conservative teachers also would have been fired. The policy itself is ridiculous, as politics are intrinsically linked with ethics, civics and history. However, its unequal enforcement reveals either, or both, of the following:

• Conservative students lack the confidence in their beliefs not to complain the moment they are challenged.
• The school is beholden to (the pocketbooks of) the parents of these students, rather than educational integrity.

- Greg Boudreaux, Davis, California

Missouri in need

Shopping for our Thanksgiving meal, I added extra cranberries to my cart for a holiday food drive. As necessary as food donations are, I know what hungry Americans really need is a protected food program from Congress.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, serves more than 42 million people per month. It’s regulated by the federal farm bill, which requires reauthorization every five years.

Congress has failed to pass a new bill on time. Arguing about dangerous cuts of $30 billion over the next decade resulted in an expired bill. SNAP is now in danger of running out of money at year’s end.

Congress needs to pass a new farm bill quickly. Given that the high cost of groceries was a major concern for voters on Nov. 5, it would be callous for Congress to make it harder for low-income folks to buy food.

Missouri’s U.S. senators and representatives should support a farm bill or an extension that protects and strengthens SNAP.

- Cynthia Changyit Levin, Town and Country, Missouri

Tearing it down?

There is no love of country in wanting to tear apart its fabric and rip up its foundation. Destruction is not patriotism; it’s the underpinnings of tyranny, signs of a dictator.

Tyranny doesn’t blow in like a gale-force wind and transform the landscape in a day. It creeps in slowly over time, methodically. It instills fear, it creates enemies, divides the country and restricts freedoms, particularly freedom of the press. Sound familiar?

Donald Trump will govern by a doctrine of fear. His Cabinet selections are like Dracula shouting, “All aboard the bloodmobile! I’m driving!”

Inexperienced Cabinet picks are qualified to do only the opposite of what they’re supposed to do. They were chosen to dismantle our present form of government.

President Ronald Reagan’s “shining city on the hill” will no longer shine bright. America and the world are the losers mired in a dark future.

- William R. Park Sr., Shawnee