Editor, Gazette-Journal:
Donald Trump has misrepresented the truth on so many issues that his supporters believe him. The writer of last week’s letter to the editor (“America, we have a problem”) states that Democrats are trying to destroy the United States with ANTIFA, Black Lives Matter and even the Communist Party. Nothing could be further from the truth. First, Democrats are NOT communists. We believe in democracy, not communism or fascism. Putting federal police on the streets of Portland, Oregon, to beat and gas peaceful protesters is fascism. Ordering federal cops to push peaceful protesters out of a public park in D.C. so Trump can have a photo op in front of a church which he has hardly attended is fascism. ANTIFA is in opposition to fascism.
And Democrats believe that Black lives DO matter. In America, everyone has the right of free assembly, even or especially Black people. White nationalists like the Boogaloo Bois have been identified as crashing the protests to cause havoc. The protesters don’t want them. What they want is respect and no need to worry every time they see a policeman.
The writer claims that Joe Biden wants to defund the police. Poppycock! Biden has repeatedly made clear he wants to reform the police, to provide increased funding for more and better training and to end systemic racism in some departments. Perhaps this will help some officers keep their knees off Black necks, end no-knock warrants that kill innocent Black homeowners and stop them from shooting Black people in the back.
Trump ignored the COVID-19 virus while people died. The virus is bad enough while one has it with the possibility of immediate death. And the aftereffects (including lung scarring for life, chest pain, neck pain, hot flashes, persistent dry cough, and anxiety and depression similar to PTSD) are horrendous.
Trump displays no empathy for victims and continues to minimize this virus, lying almost daily about how soon a vaccine will be available … all the while hyping the importance of sending our precious children back to crowded schools, endangering the children, teachers, staff and their families. And if you want to compare Biden’s mental acuity to Trump’s, just listen to them talk. It wasn’t Biden who suggested injecting bleach into our bodies to kill the virus.
Republicans used to write sensible letters to the editor advocating such conservative values as personal responsibility, family values, rule of law, lower deficits, respect for the military, standing up to dictators and defending democracy. It’s impossible to persuasively argue that Trump stands for traditional conservative values, or to persuasively argue that Biden doesn’t stand for those values. Biden is a middle-of-the-road Democrat and always has been, willing to listen to new ideas and capable of working across the aisle while maintaining Democratic interests.
To quote the writer: “This is a war we must win to save the Republic.” He got that right. If we don’t vote Donald Trump out of office in November, we will most certainly become just as corrupt as Venezuela.
Katie Thompson
Hayes, Va.