Wear masks
To the editor:
The other day, I was driving down Sunrise Drive near Rolling Bay when I passed a group of middle school teens: 4 girls and 2 boys. None was wearing masks, and all walking close together. It bothered me and so when I saw them again in front of Bay Hay, I confronted them.
One girl apologized, and one of the boys said something curt – I told them that they were jeopardizing everyone else by not wearing them? As I got back in my car, I thought about peer pressure and how hard it is for teens to stand up and be different from the pack.
I’ve worked with hundreds of teens as a teen circle leader in the nonprofit I founded, Teen Talking Circles. I know how it feels to have teens shine us adults on. I did it when I was a teen. I also know what it’s like to worry about feeling rejected or an outcast and how it’s so much easier to go along with the crowd.
I wish I could have reached those 6 teens and gotten them to realize how urgently we need them to protect each other and the rest of us by simply wearing masks. Today, in Kitsap County, we have 4 times the number of new infections. It is even more critical now for teens to realize how much of an impact they can make by doing the right thing.
Linda Wolf
Bainbridge Island
Consequences of inaction
To the editor,
Why are we not stopping the cause of our fear and pain? Are we too distracted by the horrors of COVID-19? Are we afraid to face the facts? We appear to deny the probability that this current virus will be followed by another. Previous viral diseases contracted from animals include HIV AIDS, SARS and MERS.
Haven’t we learned anything? Yes, we may be doing what we can to put out these fires with medication, isolation and sanitation but we are not stopping the arsonists causing the relentless fires. They are the filthy, inhumane, cramped animal wet markets (primitive slaughterhouses) throughout Asia and found even in large U.S. cities like New York.
Why isn’t more being done to prevent disasters like this pandemic? We must stop the fetid conditions that foster and breed the development of mutant, deadly pathogens that spread from suffering animals to careless humans. A few international organizations weakly addressed the problem last April and then moved on to far less dangerous issues. Last spring three U.S. senators purported to demand China shut down wet markets but then their anger disappeared. Nothing since. No rallying, no pressure, no sanctions, no action.
Such Laissez-faire leadership is distressing. Tenacious action is needed now. But that’s unlikely until enough people care. Meanwhile, as wet markets flourish, let’s prepare for additional pandemics, continued shutdowns, sickness and high death rates, donning daily our masks and PPE (when available), economic depression, hunger and heartbreak for the loss of our previous lifestyles. A sad, bleak future but so easily prevented.
Linda Troup
Poulsbo
Fake party
To the editor:
What is the cause of global warming? Overpopulation.
You will never hear that said. Remember the Democratic primaries? Every person was moaning about global warming. Not one would say what the cause is. Can you fix global warming without dealing with the cause? No. As such, every one of them was scamming us by hiding pertinent information. Why would the Democratic Party cover up the cause of global warming? So as not to offend religious people who don’t like to hear about population control.
Are there other coverups going on in the Democratic Party? Yes. Guns are a good example. There are almost 500 million guns in this country. If guns were dangerous we all would have been dead long ago. Joe Biden says he wants to go after assault rifles. There aren’t any. Assault rifles are machine guns that have been illegal for 80 years. Why misrepresent rifles? To make them sound bad. It is a scam.
Take the number of people who commit suicide off the number of gun deaths each year, and the people dying from guns is about the same number as people dying from aspirin. We are in a pandemic with violence in our streets. No one knows what is coming so let’s disarm everyone so everybody can be a victim? You would have thought with that much gun ownership/voters the Democrats would support gun rights. The Democratic Party is fake.
Bill Smith
Bainbridge Island
Man inspiring
To the editor:
Inspirational to read about a Bainbridge Island resident battling world hunger. (‘BI connection to world hunger, Nobel Peace Prize’ on Oct. 31) Hunger is increasing everywhere including in America with the coming of COVID and the lack of relief from Congress, since the Senate and the White House failed to follow the lead of the House Heroes Act.
Included in that bill were funds for SNAP, our frontline effort to battle hunger in America, and in the recent bill, a significant amount (though less than 1% of the bill) for global health initiatives and nutrition.
While we may not reach the achievements of Richard Ragan, we can be inspired by him and no matter who wins the election, contact our senators 202-224-3121 and the White House 202-456-1111, asking them to pass this critical relief and take other steps to battle the pandemic, hunger, and the lack of equity it has exposed.
Willie Dickerson
Snohomish
