WS Chronicle

This man is seriously ‘unhinged;’ no name needed

To The Editor:

The man has become seriously unhinged. Congratulating himself on predicting an Orlando-type massacre; consistently hyper-inflating the number of Muslim refugees allowed into the United States; stating there is virtually no vetting process, which is completely inaccurate – the process takes anywhere from 1-2 years;  suggesting that a ban on allowing Muslims will stop terrorist activity – never mind that the last two jihadists were born in America; insinuating that there may be some kind of conspiracy because our President is “…either not tough, not smart or he’s got something else in mind,” suggesting that President Obama himself might sympathize with radical elements.

He has become the cheerleader for encouraging and validating rude, adolescent-style behaviors of name-calling, verbal bullying and mimicry – behaviors we work hard as parents and educators to eliminate in our children.

His outrageous statements and character assassinations about Hispanics, Muslims and women give racists, bigots and ignorant people permission to spew their latent hatred, fear and homophobic rantings against people they mostly know nothing about. And they say God is on their side. Really? This is what your church teaches you?

Many media sources have chosen not to recognize nor give credence or humanity to the Orlando shooter by naming him. For the same reasons, I will not name the person described above. You know who he is, what he is, and the serious danger an unhinged person poses to the position and reputation of the great nation of our United States.

Lois Roewade

Pfafftown

Animals, just as humans, shouldn’t be exploited

To The Editor:

As a proud member of the LGBTQ community and an employee of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), I was appalled by the horrific massacre in Orlando. My heart and thoughts are with all of our community and the nation as we mourn this terrible tragedy and try desperately to make sense out of the senseless.

The LGBTQ community has struggled long and hard to overcome oppression and hate, and the deadly shootings at Pulse remind us that we still have much work to do. As a country and as a community, we must stand united against hate and bigotry, and fight for love, respect, and kindness to all. But in order to truly foster a climate of compassion and acceptance, it’s important that we not limit our concern to members of our own community – or our own species.

Just like any oppressed group, the animals beaten on factory farms, blinded in product-testing laboratories and skinned alive for something as frivolous as fur suffer these and other injustices because of prejudice and ignorance. Their feelings are entirely discounted, even though they experience fear, love, grief, joy, and pain, just as all of us do.

As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. rightly said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” So much violence is out of our control, but we can reject the violence in our daily lives by choosing not to support industries that exploit other living beings. As the nation stands with Orlando, I urge readers to visit www.PETA.org to learn more about cruelty-free living and extending our circle of compassion.

Amanda Nordstrom

People for the Ethical 

Treatment of Animals

Norfolk, Virginia

Juneteenth should prompt us to recommit to equality for all

To The Editor:

We celebrate Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, each year to commemorate June 19, 1865, when news of the end of slavery reached millions of slaves in Galveston, Texas, and they were informed of their freedom and the end of the Civil War.

It is a day when we reflect on the suffering of slavery and honor the lives lost over the course of one of the darkest periods in American history.

As we celebrate Juneteenth 2016 with friends and family, we recognize the many contributions African-Americans make to society and recommit ourselves to ensuring all Americans are treated fairly and equitably under the law and have an opportunity to achieve the American dream.

Since its establishment in 1971, Members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) have joined together to empower America’s neglected citizens and address their legislative concerns.

For more than 40 years, the CBC has consistently been the voice for people of color and vulnerable communities in Congress and has been committed to utilizing the full Constitutional power and statutory authority of the United States government to ensure that all U.S. citizens have an opportunity to achieve the American Dream.

U.S. Rep. G. K. Butterfield (NC-01), 

Chairman

Congressional Black Caucus

Washington, D.C.

Black Caucus marks one-year anniversary of the shooting at Mother Emanuel Church

To The Editor:

One year ago today, nine parishioners were violently gunned down as they worshiped in peace at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church in Charleston, South Carolina.

An incident of such terror and racial hatred could have easily sparked an outpouring of anger and violence from the community and around the nation, but we witnessed something different. It was not rage, nor was it vengeance. We witnessed a response of Christian forgiveness, unity and peace that led a community and the nation to grieve for the nine victims and all those impacted by this tragedy. Our hearts were broken by the senseless act of hate and racism as such violence should never be tolerated in a country as great as ours.

Today, as we pause to remember the lives of the beloved individuals we lost – Depayne Middleton Doctor, Cynthia Hurd, Susie Jackson, Ethel Lance, Clementa Pinckney, Tywanza Sanders, Daniel Simmons, Sharonda Singleton, and Myra Thompson – we renew our commitment to the cause that united a nation in love, peace, and racial unity to once and for all eliminate the Confederate Flag, one of the longest standing symbols of hatred and divisiveness in America’s history, from public institutions across the country.

U.S. Rep. G. K. Butterfield (NC-01),

Caucus supports

Chairman,

Congressional Black Caucus 

Washington, D.C. 

Caucus sustainable funding of HBCUs

To The Editor:

The North Carolina Legislative Black Caucus supports affordable college tuition with a long-term commitment that preserves the historical heritage of our historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and any other bills containing said language.

We support engaging with various stakeholders regarding legislation, which impacts HBCUs as well as other constituent institutions, and how we fulfill our Constitutional obligations to North Carolina students.

Rep. Garland Pierce

N.C. Legislative Black Caucus