Letters to the editor: Trump, manifesto, vigil, nonviolence

Trump

Hi Mom. I hope you are doing well today. I love you and Dad more than you know.

I don’t normally interfere with your political choices. You have your reasons for voting the way you do.

But I’m asking you — begging you— for the sake of your grandchildren and their children— to not cast a vote for Donald Trump in November.

I have my reasons for opposing the president, and I could go on and on. I will absolutely give you those reasons, but be prepared to read for a half-hour or more.

As a disabled U.S. Air Force veteran, as a father, as an educated member of American society who holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism (Trump’s “enemy of the people”) and as your son, I plead with you and Dad to not vote for this narcissistic, self-serving abomination of a man. The events of late have caused me to reflect on my legacy and the future for my children.

Regardless of what you decide, I will always love you. But please consider my request. Your choice will affect me, your children and great-grandchildren.

Michael McAuliffe, Boise

Black Lives Matter

Recent events make finding the right words difficult.

Let’s just speak the truth simply.

BLACK LIVES MATTER.

We have to speak these words because, in this country of ours, black lives have never mattered to those who have ruled this continent for 400 years. If we, as Humanists, can even entertain the idea of an Original Sin, it was race-based slavery in America. And though we, as Humanists, do not believe in guilt passed down through generations, perhaps there is something to be said for the recognition of a responsibility and a debt owed.

We who are white must recognize that we have, in ways we may not even understand, benefited from America’s slave-holding past. Now we see the toll our advantage has exacted on human beings who were systematically denied it, and we cannot unsee the truth.

As Humanists, we know that only humans can solve this problem. No demons exist except those in our own hearts. No gods will save us from ourselves.

The time is long past due for restorative justice, for dismantling the institutional racism that still defaces America. It won’t be easy.

Humanists of Idaho stands with Black Lives Matter.

Patricia Acks, Boise, president, Humanists of Idaho

Manifesto

Good on you, Mayor McLean. After the release of the Boise Manifesto, wingnuts popped like champagne corks in a heat wave. Even the Koch Brothers’ lackey, Wayne Hoffman, choked on his cud.

But Madam Mayor, the Manifesto missed three critical needs for Boise City’s historical redemption.

First, provide a block of land to the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe of Duck Valley. Their ancestors were force-marched out of Paradise by the U.S. Army. Jesus wept. Boise Bannock Casino, anyone?

Second, Boise City should be a safe haven for the anadromous Idahoans. Advocate for the breach/bypass of the Snake River dams that block their return to ancestral spawning beds.

Third, the Greenbelt and Boise River cleanup were led by folks who made it safe to float the river and drink beer. Abolish the Boise River beer ban.

Wayne de la Motte, Boise

Nonviolence

During these protests, I am surprised and disappointed that none of our religious leaders, particular black leaders, have not stepped up to speak on behalf of the protests nor done anything to stem the violence. I just remember the efforts of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. If he were here today, I can only imagine that he would be in the forefront, leading the protests in a very nonviolent way. I think religious leaders of all faiths in this country need to come together to lead the country to change and to provide hope to a fractured nation.

Sandra Lodge, Meridian