Letters to the Editor

The nature of racism

Editor, the Journal,

I was raised in the South by a single working mom, and much like Mr. Poirson’s story in his letter of March 3, was influenced at an early age by the admirable personal characteristics of our caregiver/maid. It is always rewarding to read letters to the Journal that express opinions and personal views that are free from the sneers and name-calling that fuel running feuds.

Poirson may want to have some longer conversations with his experts on racial conflict because it is doubtful they accuse him that “as a Caucasian” he is “a systemic racist.” Every individual may or may not have racist views or feelings in their thoughts or opinions, but systemic racism refers to the societal structure whose outcomes result in inequality and injustice for some groups as opposed to others.

The “only cure for this malady” is far from “a frontal lobotomy,” but for some individuals out there that is certainly a tempting option! The tragic story in his letter reveals a young boy who admired and respected a strong woman who played an influential role in his upbringing. Nothing remotely racist about that, even as Poirson admits she was the only person of color he’s known “well enough to feel comfortable around.”

In no way does Poirson deserve his own label of being an “apologist” for systemic racism. His letter in no way is any type of defense of that system, but indeed a great example of how expanding the diversity of those we “feel comfortable around” can lead to more tolerance and understanding for us all.

David Ellis, Union

Thanks for good news

Editor’s note: “Good News” is advertiser-sponsored content that’s not produced by the editorial staff of the Shelton-Mason County Journal.

Editor, the Journal,

I commend and thank you for including the “Good News” page in the Journal every week. We all surely need good news these days. Theresa does a great job sharing a verse of scripture with some personal thoughts, prayer and Bible trivia. The young and old alike should enjoy and profit from it. The Good News is certainly a breath of encouragement to me and anyone who takes a few moments to read and think about it. This week’s prayer for God’s mercy on the people of Ukraine is one we all need to pray. The verse at the bottom of the page, Isaiah 40:31, is a wonderful promise. Thank you for such valuable input.

Doris Spear, Shelton

Thanks for the correction

Editor, the Journal,

Thank you. Mr. James Biehl, for noticing my error in both logic and nomenclature in your response to my Journal letter to the editor published in the March 3 edition in response to my letter of Feb. 24: concise, polite, and erudite, exposing my oversight regarding the difference between investment and expense. You are totally correct noticing that investments — in this case real estate — are typically long-term (30 years is considered an eternity in this environment). Expenses, on the other hand, are short term — monthly, at best.

As an aside — if we ever have a debate between the local Republican (conservative) and Democratic (liberal) parties I would like to have you as my Democratic/liberal opponent as I think we might have the ability to discuss (vs. emote) political issues — a godsend for all.

In the interest of brevity in my last missive to the Journal, I ignored the critical difference between investment and expense; an investment (stocks, property, machine tools) should not be confused with expense (food, clothing, whiskey and rent — the daily exchange of cash for product).

Regarding investors: I recall an anecdote regarding our neighbor Dorothy — arguably the wealthiest woman in our wealthy community. Dorothy would pull into the local Cleveland Trust night depository kiosk in her aging Dodge Dart, toss therein a wad of cash wrapped in a rubber band enveloped with her name. It was subsequently deposited correctly.

And then there’s my mother’s observation that the most poorly dressed children in our town were the ones whose parents were wealthy. An early lesson: wealth is not obstreperous, appearance is not necessarily reality, and wealth is an attitude and characteristic within you, a part of your character.

Were I ever to be elected to be Grand Pooh-Bah of the United States, I would require that every expenditure proposal be classified as investment or expense: provide supportive documentation — 500 words or less.

James Poirson, Shelton

A matter of war

Editor, the Journal,

I’m sorry Mr. Graham was spit on by antiwar protesters when he returned home from Vietnam. Their spittle was not only juvenile and disrespectful of our soldiers who thought they were honorably serving their country, but blindly misdirected. The target should have been the political and military leaders who misdirected our country into that terrible war.

Mr. Graham posed two questions to me and as a responsive person here are my answers. I believe President Lyndon Johnson chose not to run for reelection in ’68 because after committing 500,000 troops to fight in Vietnam on the advice of his military advisers, he saw no progress toward winning that war. Even after achieving significant legislative victories in domestic policy on civil rights and the war on poverty, he was facing a huge foreign policy issue regarding the Vietnam War and the growing countrywide opposition. He had doubts about the war. He was tired and reportedly in failing health. He knew he did not have the stamina nor the moral commitment to preside over four more years conducting that war.

And yes, Ms. Fonda expressed regret and apologized numerous times to those who felt her message was aiding the enemy and their propaganda machine. But the message was not directed at our soldiers burdened by the myopia of combat with an enemy trying to kill them. Again her message was directed to the American people that our country was dropping millions of tons of bombs on North Vietnam aimed at military targets but collaterally killing thousands of civilian women and children. Her message was correct.

I’m not sure if those are the correct answers as proctored by Mr. Graham, but I think he is correct when he states the war was not lost in Vietnam. I believe the war was actually won here at home when protesters against that war finally convinced the public and our leaders we were fighting a costly, tragic and unwinnable war.

I do have a question for Mr. Graham: Does he believe we were fighting a good war that we could and should have won? Before answering that question, I encourage him to watch the PBS comprehensive and compelling Ken Burns documentary “The Vietnam War.”

Craig Anderson, Shelton

Do something

Editor, the Journal,

Our standard of living has been diminished and likely will get worse and stay that way for years to come. Our leaders have let us down. I have had little faith in our political leaders for a very long time, and believe most are self-serving, compromised, lacking a spine, and/or just plain dumb. Some are what I judge as evil.

Their actions make little sense and certainly do not reflect the will of those who they serve. While the people of Ukraine suffer and die, we wring our hands and hope for the best: Pretty much what we did in the 1930s. Whoever thought it a good idea to reduce coal, oil and gas production and exploration without other means of producing energy already being in place. Why are the approvals for six liquid natural gas export facilities being held up by the White House? Don’t they understand that China and Russia and many other countries have no interest in saving the polar bears or the planet?

They are getting rich on our stupidity. It is time to get the pipelines going again, drilling everywhere in the USA and exporting to Europe. Not tomorrow or next week, but today. A superpower does not purchase Russian or Iranian oil but is self-sufficient.

A quote, attributed to Edmund Burke:

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

Bill Zeigler, Shelton

It’s all upside down

Editor, the Journal,

So, we sadly see that the worst war since World War II has been started by comrade Putin. He is already in the process of destroying civilians as well as their homes, apartments and government buildings in Ukraine. Almost the entire free world from Europe to North America and beyond, including Switzerland, is roundly condemning and sanctioning Russia, except for ex-President Donald Trump, who has called Putin a genius and very savvy. Trump also claims to know Putin very, very well.

Wow. In decades past, the conservatives had more than just a touch of Russophobia. The Russians were the Darth Vader, evil empire incarnate. So, what has happened to some conservatives that they now bow down to a leader (Trump) who would have been called a “fellow traveler” or a communista back in the day?

Putin is committing war crimes, threatening nuclear reprisal against NATO and the U.S., and some Americans are still bowing down to the future U.S. Stalin Trump. What a totally upside-down world we live in. Way too much Jim Jones Kool-Aid has been drunk by too many people.

William Busacca, Shelton

You better believe it

Editor, the Journal,

I can’t believe it!

That statement is one of the most frequently used phrases in the English language. I hear it nearly every time someone tries to describe an event of some kind. “I can’t believe that happened.” “I can’t believe he did that.” “I can’t believe she kissed me.” On and on it goes about nearly anything. It seems our mouths are not in touch with our eyes and our brains. I always laugh when I hear someone say it. They’re usually referring to something they are witnessing. My kids are tired of me asking, “What do you think it is, an illusion”?

And speaking of illusions, that brings me to wonder why there are people who still believe in the current presidency. There is little evidence the man or his handlers have a clue how to lead or govern. I used the term “handlers” because he has several times suggested, “They said I shouldn’t say that.” The man doesn’t even realize he is president and supposed leader of the free world. The man who was elected to be our commander in chief, to be in charge of our country’s foreign affairs, our economy, our borders, our military. Who are those who would have the power or influence to suggest he should or should not say something? There are always sycophants surrounding powerful people, but in his case, it seems he has given over the reins of the entire country to this incompetent advisory group. They orchestrated his election so he has become a bootlicker for them and accepted their takeover as the real power brokers of his administration. A ship of fools.

And if we believe the poll ratings, there are still many citizens who look at the decisions coming out of the White House, at the results of those decisions, at what is visible and obvious about those decisions, at what they are paying for those decisions, at the degradation of much of what is good and right about our country, witnessing it every day and still defending the indefensible. Have they surrendered the sight of their eyes and the rationality and common sense of their minds?

I can’t believe it.

Lee Ferguson, Shelton

Biden and Ukraine

Editor, the Journal,

Dear Mr. Robert E. Graham,

Re: “Minor Housekeeping” letter to Journal on March 3. I wish to congratulate you on echoing your attention-mongering, fearless leader Donald Trump. However, I would disagree with you that your “more colorful comments” are just that. No, the better words to describe the majority of your letters are outrageous, illogical and mean-spirited. By the way, Merriam-Webster defines “name-calling” as “the use of offensive names especially to win an argument or to induce rejection or condemnation (as of a person or project) without objective consideration of the facts.” You’ve been watching too much FOX News. FOX News does not deal in facts, it deals in half-truths, innuendos and specious statements. I believe you misspoke when you wrote that “Ukraine is, as we have known, at war with Russia.” The last time I looked it was Russia who invaded Ukraine, not the reverse. Again, methinks you’ve been watching too much FOX News. … and “With Joe Biden as president, the U.S. is the weakest player”? So, enlighten us all, Mr. Graham, as you seem to know so much, how would you or Trump handle this incursion of war-mongering Russia into a peaceful Ukraine? And “political blunders of the last decade”? Really, Mr. Graham, when hurling insults, Hillary Clinton isn’t even in the same category as Trump, or hadn’t you noticed. So, canceling the Keystone Pipeline by President Biden has “… started an inevitable slide into a complete loss of U.S. energy independence.” Again, the last I looked, the oil that would be coming through the pipeline belongs to Canada, not the U.S. How would that have made us energy “independent?” (Independent: not subject or control by others; not requiring or relying on others.) Lastly, Mr. Graham, I thank you for your confession, “I appreciate the free press.” Yes, Mr. Graham, you do need attention, only I don’t think you’ll get what you really require from writing letters to the editor. Look closer to home.

Bill Pfender, Shelton

Why do the young refuse vaccine?

Editor, the Journal,

I imagine many of your readers are ready to celebrate the end of the pandemic, and I wish I could join them. What stands in my way is the knowledge that many of my brother and sister Washingtonians have yet to get their vaccinations to protect themselves and the rest of us against the COVID-19 virus and its variants.

I recently met two young men in the prime of life, unvaccinated, who seemed unaware of the death rate from COVID among their age group. With the ready availability of a free, proven vaccine, I’m puzzled. I wonder what motivated them to say “no?”

Perhaps they think their youthful vigor will protect them from COVID — yet tens of thousands of Americans their age have been killed by it.

Perhaps they believe that their elderly family members and those under age 5 will be protected by their love for them — yet thousands of just those people have been killed by COVID.

Perhaps they hope that omicron is the last variant — yet people who are unvaccinated are the place for new variants to develop.

Perhaps they think that people who can’t be vaccinated due to medical conditions or young age are so few as to not matter — yet death statistics show that is not the truth.

So, what are they thinking? I’m eager to see a letter sharing the motivation for avoiding the vaccine when the risks of doing so are high to the individuals, their families and neighbors. Oh, it is a power trip?

Donna Branch-Gilby, Port Orchard