Mosher’s justice reform plan will work
As a multicultural artist with an interest in history and politics, I am intrigued and excited by the positive shift our country is making in favor of criminal justice reform. I see it here in Tucson where multicultural protest marches have brought together diverse communities demanding change in policing and respect for Black and brown lives.
There is an important election coming up for a new county attorney that could bring about this positive change.
I have read the justice reform plan put forth by candidate Jonathan Mosher. It includes police reforms, drug policy reform and a new prosecution philosophy. I support this plan and believe it will work if it is implemented. I have spent time talking with Mr. Mosher and getting to know him. He is committed to this reform plan and has the ability to carry it out. I hope the voters will give him the chance.
Rozana Villanes
Oro Valley
When it comes to virus safety, trust matters
It’s obvious that Americans are going to be living with COVID-19 for a long time. The only way to navigate this virus is to use trust as a tool for deciding who to see, what to do and where to go. When making personal decisions about how to stay safe, we need to ask ourselves: Who do we trust?
Which government officials best represent us and share our views on the seriousness of this virus? Which friends and family members do we trust in terms of mask-wearing and social distancing? Which restaurants and businesses do we trust in terms of safe practices and following proper guidelines?
Which media (including social media sites) do we trust to bring us the best, most factual information?
Unfortunately, due to the lack of clear and consistent messaging from our federal and state leaders at the top, we are left on our own to decide how to stay safe (and keep others safe) during this very trying time in American history.
Jane Lassar
Foothills
Don’t like masks?
Wear a (fashionable) veil
What is all the fuss about? These people who don’t want to wear masks, they haven’t thought this through. They could be more exotic, alluring and mysterious with a thin sheath of a veil. Remember the harem girls?
Oh yes, for men, try a thin black sheath. Make a statement instead of creating a scene inside stores that have safety policies. They are trying to make a safe environment for those of us who have to venture out once a week to get necessities. Thank you to all of them.
Remember we should be in this together as part of the solution not part of the crisis. Get your thinking hats on; be creative instead of destructive and combative.
Paula Palotay
Marana
We suffer, and celebrate, together
Re: the June 28 article “Once-distant plague comes to roost in AZ hospitals, where staffs feel the strain.”
I read your article and I cried all the way through it. My heart goes out to the families of these victims of this terrible disease, the caregivers and their families as well. We are all in this together, and each pain is suffered by everyone and each joy is celebrated by all.
Ben Michelson
Midtown
No more target shooting in national forests
Re: the June 28 article “Gun club still seeking permit from Forest Service for range.”
Sunday’s article included an apt description of sanctioned shooting ranges as orderly spaces for learning about gun safety. A shooting range may be a good idea but it won’t solve the problem. The rogue shooting galleries spread out over the area have contaminated the land and created an environment that is unsafe for families and the many people who already feel at risk to be out on national forest lands.
Banning target shooting on urban national forests is the only way to stop people looking for a lawless experience to shoot guns at things that explode. If the Bighorn Fire, the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement is teaching our community nothing else, it’s that we must be acting in an era of collective care and recovery, not singular selfish desire.
Amy Harwood
South side
Black lives banner
not ‘a divisive display’
Re: the June 29 letter “City Hall banner is not inclusive.”
After all the horrific, unjust deaths of “certain people” over the past several weeks and indeed throughout our history, I’m at a loss to understand the writer’s comment that displaying a “Black Lives Matter” banner on Tucson’s City Hall is “such a divisive display.”
It’s an erroneous assumption to conclude that a Black Lives Matter banner means that other lives don’t matter. However, the writer is correct: The “Black Lives Matter” banner conveys recognition for our fellow man.
Sandra Rees
Green Valley
Wondering what Till would say
Re: the June 28 article “Emmett Till and I were the same age.”
I enjoyed reading Ray Lindstrom’s op-ed. I graduated from eighth grade in Chicago in 1956, a year after Mr. Lindstrom and Emmett Till graduated. Mr. Lindstrom said he lived in the north-west suburbs; I lived on the north side, in the city.
My grade school in Chicago had no Blacks or Hispanics. Our diversity was limited — our ancestors were from Northern Europe, Greece and Italy. In 1956, I moved to Tucson with my parents and started high school at Tucson High. The diversity there was considerably broader.
I think Emmett Till would be pleasantly amazed that the civil rights laws of the 1960s made all forms of racial discrimination a federal crime and we had an African-American two-term president from 2008 to 2016; but beyond that, I too wonder what he would say.
Douglas R. Holm
East side
