Letters to the editor for Sept. 2

Losing hope in battle with litter

For over six years my partner and I have been picking up litter at the Mud Bay Park and Ride and the William Cannon Trail. A couple businesses in the Mud Bay Business Park allowed us to dump our collected litter in their dumpsters or tire recycle stacks. We felt good doing it and frequently users of the lot or trail thanked us for our service.

In the last couple of years the litter has changed from fast-food wrappers and cups to filthy trash and garbage. We used to be able to fit a week’s worth of litter in a couple five-gallon buckets. Then it became a twice-a-week effort. We have finally given up. There is too much garbage being dumped there for us to keep up with, or without overfilling the dumpsters.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the number of people sleeping in their cars overnight has increased at about the same rate as the garbage has increased. I know these people are struggling and we’ve even befriended some of them, but why must a few of them ruin one of the better places for them to safely sleep by dumping their garbage there?

I hope the DOT, which owns the property, or the county will do something. Based on past efforts, my hopes aren’t very high. Time will tell.

Gary Rothwell, Olympia

Post office is a service, not a business

How can Trump’s appointed postmaster Louis DeJoy claim to be making the post office more efficient by removing over 750 high-speed letter sorting machines nationwide? Why would anyone want our mail delivery to slow down?

The post office is not a business, it is a service of our government that ties us all together. Efficiency is more important than profitability. DeJoy and Trump should be charged with mail tampering, a felony.

Dana Scott, Olympia

Why the Postal Service is in trouble

I think it is important to remind people that the reason for the difficult financial situation at our beloved U.S. Postal Service is the law passed in 2006 requiring it to pre-fund health care and retirement costs for its members. This resulted in a 92% loss of revenue over 12 years and a 100% loss over six years. This mandate is not something required of any other public or private corporation.

I believe that those of us who rely on the Post Office for our mail, packages and prescriptions need to take action directed to the postmaster general and the Chairman of the USPS Board of Governors demanding they stop the removal and destruction of US tax-paid machinery, the deliberate slow-down of our mail and the removal of our post office boxes.

Gretchen Metz, Olympia

Runaway acronym last seen near Fourth Avenue bridge

Writing as one with experience both in taking and making tests — and with the ingrained default choice of letter C for difficult multiple choice questions — it pains me to see how popular the ACAB acronym has become, since serious test-takers know answers that start with the word “all” are invariably wrong.

This acronym is usually linked with capital letter A, and a circle around the letter, meaning it is the Anarchists’ position on the police.

I have yet to see an acronym in public with the letters AAAP (All Anarchists are Presumptuous) or AAAJ (All Anarchists are Juvenile) which would be just as questionable as ACAB, though probably more valid.

I have seen and heard of many random acts of kindness by the Olympia Police. I have not seen or heard of any random acts of kindness by local anarchists. When an anarchist takes an oath to uphold and protect public safety and gets put into a tense, moment-by-moment potentially lethal public event and handles it with coolness and grace, I will tip my hat. Until then, give the police a break and some understanding.

Do the police merit blanket condemnation? I do not recall any anarchist running up the stairs in two burning buildings in NYC on Sept. 11, 2001. Do the police deserve individual acclaim and accountability for their actions, good and bad? They do — as we all do.

Thomas Weissenberger, Olympia