Today's Letters: Symbols of the sadism found in our culture
Letters to the EditorPublished February 15, 2008
Punish now, severely Feb. 14, editorial
If punished, as you and I advocate that they be, Charlette Marshall-Jones and her colleagues will represent convenient scapegoats for the wave of sadism that threatens to drown common decency throughout America. In mistreating Brian Sterner, they followed the mandate of a society that for more than three decades has been calling for harsh treatment of prisoners, irrespective of their guilt. Just a few facts to refresh our common memories:
Only recently, Supreme Court justices were arguing over a humane way to perform cold-blooded killings.
The president and the vice president of this nation are calling for the execution of six Guantanamo detainees, who are unable to confront their accusers and to mount a defense in a court of law.
A few years ago, members of the Florida Legislature belittled the testimony of two individuals who had been condemned to die and eventually were exonerated of the crime they had been indicted for.
The majority of the people are enthusiastic about capital punishment over rehabilitation, despite mounting evidence that innocent people may be put to death, that personal guilt is hard to prove, and that capital punishment debases the whole society.
With the exception of John McCain, the Republican presidential hopefuls engaged in a contest aimed to prove which one of them would have been more heartless in the treatment of illegal immigrants.
Do I need to go any further? If punished, the Hillsborough deputies will pay for having unmasked our hypocrisy, not for having committed a crime!
Lodovico Balducci, Tampa
Portability faces challenge Feb. 13, story
Crybabies should move
What's wrong with Save Our Homes? And what's wrong with portability?
People who have lived in Florida for most of their lives and are ready to retire can now downsize their home and not be hit with a high property tax bill. Is that bad?
If someone already retired is suddenly incapable of taking care of themselves, now they can buy a larger home and have a family member move in and take care of them and not be hit with such a high property tax bill. Is that bad?
If someone has to make a job change and must move to be closer to work, should they also have to suffer being hit with a higher property tax bill? I think not.
If a young couple has another baby and they need to buy a house with an extra bedroom, should they also have to suffer being hit with a higher property tax bill? I think not.
There are hundreds of other reasons why Save Our Homes and portability are good things; the only complaints I hear are from politicians because they can't raise our assessments more than 3 percent a year, and from some crybabies who have just moved to Florida and are upset that they are paying more taxes than their neighbor.
I just moved to Florida three years ago. I knew what the taxes were going to be when I bought my new Florida home and I know that as time goes by I won't be taxed out of my home.
For those crybabies who don't like Save Our Homes and portability, all I can say is: Don't sue. Just move to a state that doesn't have them and leave the majority of us who voted for it alone.
Alan Strassle, Tarpon Springs
Democrats mask deep fissures Feb. 13, David Brooks column
Try some optimism
David Brooks indicates that if either Democratic nominee were to win and indeed withdraw almost all U.S. troops from Iraq there would be "irate opposition from important sections of the military ... outraged and highly photogenic colonials screaming betrayal ... furious opposition from Republicans and many independents" as well as "powerful opposition from Arab leaders."
Wow. Chicken Little must be right!
I don't think all the folks who have voted so far share Brooks' pessimism. Yes, there will be some harsh choices in 2009. At least there will be choices. And I honestly believe that it is possible that Americans will see beyond the hate rhetoric that is making all this talk possible.
You need a dose of optimism.
MaryLou Tuttle, Tampa
'60s idealism makes a comeback Feb. 11, commentary by Rosa Brooks
Add some realism
We've been waiting more than 40 years for the pendulum to swing back, waiting and wondering if it would happen in our lifetime.
Professor Rosa Brooks cites a return to the idealism of the '60s. I quickly pulled out a copy of another Times piece from Dec. 8, 2007, by Eckerd College president Donald Eastman, titled Postwar, a dimmed idealism.
What a difference two months make. Rosa Brooks says the mood has shifted. But has it? She cites a successful marketing campaign by Barack Obama which includes the Internet. I wonder if it's the message or the method.
We who hope she is right are legion. But Eastman is a realist and he identifies societal problems that take more than campaign rhetoric to change. The electorate of all ages is a fickle lot. And we are living in a sound-bite age.
Count me as a 70-year-old idealist with a healthy dose of realism and a little cynicism thrown in the mix. My wish is for a blend of the '60s idealism minus the extremism and rancor on both sides of the aisle. Both are equally unhealthy.
Yogi Berra might say it's time to shut up and start talking - to each other.
Norm Bungard, St. Petersburg
Firing and criminal charges are in order
This letter is written with a sense of outrage that is hard to describe. The Hillsborough County sheriff's deputy who assaulted the quadriplegic man and dumped him out of his wheelchair must be fired and charged with a criminal act.
I don't think I have ever seen such cruelty, and it is compounded because it was done by a law enforcement officer. What could this woman have been thinking? Well, it really does not matter because her physical assault on a man confined to a wheelchair is indefensible.
Fire her and charge her. To do less would be, in and of itself, a crime. Good lord, this woman is dangerous.
Bill Hoelzle, Dunedin
Morally disabled
The reason why Charlette Marshall-Jones tipped Brian Sterner out of his wheelchair is because she could. Marshall-Jones thought she would never get caught, and that's the second reason why she did this.
Let's put her in a room with a sumo wrestler or a football player and let her have a go at that.
As for her colleagues who watched: When the bad guys come for you, you better hope we don't stand by and watch.
Marshall-Jones' roommate is in tears because of the outcry? What did she expect, a Hallmark card and an "atta girl"?
The authentically disabled people here are Marshall-Jones and the onlookers: emotionally and morally disabled. I am embarrassed and ashamed to be a Floridian.
Judy Prescott, Palm Harbor