Hijacking the protests
If you want to protest, by all means do. However, do not block intersections or the interstate; this is against the law. If violence or looting starts, leave the area immediately. Staying behind makes it harder for authorities to separate peaceful protesters from the perpetrators.
You cannot use tear gas just on instigators if protesters are mixed with them. Violence will stop if you are not screening the criminal element and police can go straight to them.
Don't let criminals hijack your demonstration like we have seen all over this country the last few days and nights. It only makes you look bad.
PHILLIP BASINGER
Conway
Stop feeding the dog
Imagine, if you will, racism as a mangy cur with pitiful eyes roaming the streets of the country. No one who looks at it is unaffected by its poverty, skinny mongrel that it is. What it eats, what sustains it, is attention. And it's almost impossible not to pay attention to it.
It gives as good as it gets, though. Wherever it goes, it gets people's attention, and they respond. Some want to pet it and say, "Oh, you poor thing!" Others want to attack it with hostile moves or missiles.
But you can't drive it away. When you try, it gets sullen and seems bigger and more menacing. And somehow the people who attack it end up hitting other people instead.
Because of its big pitiful eyes it can get in really close. But it can't really bite, being only an "ism."
When I started to write this I thought the dog did bite, but on reflection it can't. What it does is magnify what's in the heart of the one looking at it. Outrage, pity, greed; all kinds of emotions are let loose. And we blame the dog for showing us this. And we do all kinds of evil to each other in its name, blaming the cur in our midst instead of ourselves.
I can't help but wonder if it's not time to listen to Dr. King. If I understood him right, he looked for the time race wasn't the important issue in one's success or failure. I believe the only reason it is the issue is that we make it the issue--and it's time to stop.
I don't think we can chase that dog away. We may just need to stop feeding it.
DAPHNE BEREND
Subiaco
Must be able to vote
We don't know whether the covid-19 pandemic will be better or worse in November. The experts are saying we are in for a second wave this fall or winter, worse than the first one. The fall election may occur in the midst of a catastrophic pandemic, or it may take place in a normal, disease-free time. We just don't know.
Humans are terrible at planning for the future. We know it's coming, we just don't want to think about it so we are surprised when it sneaks up and bites us.
Shouldn't we be prepared for the worst? What if we're confined to our homes for the winter? Will we be happily trundling off to the polls to vote on Nov. 3? And what happens to our election if we can't vote?
It makes sense for us to have the option to vote by mail. The governor should use his executive power to allow every registered voter to receive a ballot that they can mail in. We shouldn't have to ask for it; it should be delivered to us automatically.
This is not a partisan issue. Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, and independents are equally likely to be kept from the polls by the virus. We all have an equal right to vote. It's bedrock to our democracy.
We must not let voting become unavailable because our government didn't plan ahead.
MAYA PORTER
Johnson
Where is leadership?
Leaders lead, politicians make speeches. Joe Biden can quote from the First Amendment, but what he failed to articulate is that what American citizens have experienced over the past days has been anything but peaceful protest. If a governor or mayor can place limits on our First Amendment exercise of religion, then why can't that same official limit the number of hours during which people can protest? It doesn't take a genius to see that the rioting, arson, and assaults upon law enforcement and the public are occurring at night.
A vast number of Americans were sickened by the sight of George Floyd being so senselessly treated and his tragic death. They empathize with our black brothers and sisters over their treatment at the hands of some law enforcement officers. We want to help bring about change, but given that, we have yet to hear any protester or official specifically articulate what justice needs to look like before peace can return to our cities. Governors and mayors have apologized to the protesters, rioters and media for the actions of law enforcement, but these same leaders have failed to apologize to the owners whose businesses have been broken into, looted, and burned.
There are some politicians who seek to garner favor with their base by giving speeches attacking law enforcement for their use of tear gas, pepper spray, flash-bang grenades, and rubber bullets to restore some semblance of order. Would those same politicians stand with the police before those protesters who have come equipped with hammers, crowbars, bricks, gasoline firebombs, and metal poles? I think not.
There were those, in our nation's founding, who pledged their life and sacred honor. There were others who were willing to pay any price or bear any burden. Where are the men and women who don't care whether they get elected or re-elected to office, but who truly care about the rule of law and the economic well-being of the citizenry? Where are the leaders?
RUTH M. WALDON
Little Rock
Protecting everyone
Recently, I found a tearsheet I saved from the Jan. 24 issue of your paper that lauded recently deceased Jim Lehrer and his "tremendous legacy. As a journalist. Not a pundit." Right below that editorial? "Coronavirus season," reprinted from The Japan News. Thank you for sharing it and being on top of worldwide events.
The still-pertinent pieces of information from that months-old "Others Say" choice are these: Some who have fever may not be detected due to their having used fever-reducing medication and "everyone is advised to pay attention to their sanitary condition every day." Despite recent findings that coronavirus is not easily spread by touching surfaces, common sense dictates that those who frequently wash hands with soap and water and pay attention to surfaces touched (or not touched) go a long way toward protecting themselves and others.
DENISE NEMEC
Fayetteville
Editorial on 06/04/2020