Letters to the editor for Aug. 14
Rename our military bases
Who knew? Enlisting in the Army in 1971 to follow the tradition of the men in my family — my grandfather in France in 1917, my father in the Pacific in 1942 and in Korea in 1951, and my uncle in Korea in 1951 — I feel I can speak for them on the topic of military base names.
When I first read about the issue, my head exploded! Basic training for me was at Fort Lewis. OK, I get it — Meriwether Lewis of Lewis and Clark. Signal School was at Fort Gordon (named for John Brown Gordon, a major general in the Confederate Army), Jump School was at Fort Benning (named for Confederate General Henry Lewis Benning), and Permanent Party was at Fort Bragg (named for Confederate General Braxton Bragg). All three bases named for traitors!
As I was cycling through these bases, it didn’t occur to me to wonder who these men were or how they were so honored — I was kind of busy. Besides the barracks, streets, and parade grounds were named for battles or heroes so — who knew.
Clean this mess up, and honor the honorable.
Miles Folks, Olympia
Washington’s NFL team drops ‘Redskins’
I propose killing a flock of birds with one stone. Rename Washington, D.C., to “Federal District of the United States” and the team to the “Federals.” This rids the team and the district of any references to Washington, Columbus, Native Americans, and gender.
Now, about the state of Washington. …
Edwin J. Pole, Lacey
Trump causing total destruction
Donald Trump has destroyed us. He’s destroyed the State Department, the Department of Justice, our environmental policies, our immigration policies. He’s destroyed our good will around the world, he’s destroyed all respect for the presidency, he’s attempted to destroy our trust in the media. He’s attempted to destroy our trust in our intelligence departments, the FBI, the CIA, etc. He has fostered racism and unrest. He’s dismantling our medical system, he’s running our physicians and nurses and hospitals to the limit. He’s trying to destroy our belief in science. And now he is actually killing many of us.
He need not boast of these accomplishments, he couldn’t have done it alone. He had plenty of help.
Patti Simpson, Olympia
South Sound YMCA putting safety first
At the South Sound YMCA, the health and safety of our participants, members, staff and community is our number one priority. We have been monitoring the confirmed COVID-19 cases both locally and nationally, including those causing the closure of YMCA resident camps in Atlanta earlier this summer.
Balancing public health with the economic health and individual needs of our community during a pandemic is a difficult and dynamic task. Early on, it was clear that some programs could not safely proceed regardless of the safety protocols in place. Despite having clear guidelines published by national, state and local authorities, the South Sound YMCA made the decision, prior to the end of the school year, to cancel all resident camp programming this summer.
While the activities inherent in sleep-away camp provide enormous benefits to youth, they don’t outweigh the public health risks created.
Since mid-March, the South Sound Y has led our region in safely implementing childcare programs that enable children to thrive, parents to work, and our community to stay safe. We will continue providing day camp opportunities with procedures in place to mitigate the spread of airborne illness. These programs are critical for essential workers and others as our economy reopens and pose a much lower threat to public safety than resident camp programs.
We understand the inherent risk of bring people together in any public setting during a pandemic and continue developing innovative solutions to balance the ever-changing needs of our community.
Kyle Cronk, President/CEO of South Sound YMCA