Letters to the editor for Jan. 20

Consequences of unfettered social media and internet

The desecration of the U.S. Capitol building, our symbol of democracy, on Jan. 6 was a culmination of years of an unfettered internet and social media that spewed lies manufactured by a megalomanic President, as well as by many others.

Our society was beginning to implement a more honest internet. As a relatively new tool that disseminates information at lightning speeds, we didn’t know the extreme consequences it could impart in this social experiment that we have all been a part of. But after what has transpired, there is no doubt that the new administration must prioritize shaping it to be a more civil tool of truthful discourse.

And what of the millions of people already taken in by the deceptions, who have drunk the Kool-Aid? Whether they performed illegal acts or not, many have become brainwashed into believing lies and now live in a fantasy world in which trust and truth has been thrown out the window. It seems likely that the virtual net has created virtual cult members.

Many may need mental health services to help them regain the ability to reason and differentiate reality from fantasy. Individually we must speak truth and reality to those who need a dose of it. We must let them know that lies and conspiracy theories spread like wildfire on the internet and social media. We must tell those we care about that in the real world there are reputable sources of information and we must guide them to them.

Robin Ivey-Black, Olympia

On the mobs gathering in Olympia

I write this to express my distaste at the way the city of Olympia, Olympia Police, and The Olympian have portrayed the recent events at the state Capitol building. They equivocate those defending themselves and their community to those gathering with nefarious intent.

Republicans announced their intent to shut down the 2021 Legislative Assembly here in our city, if their demands to reform the Washington state Constitution, to give their representatives more power, and to end COVID measures, were not met.

In Nashville, on Christmas, we saw a bombing by a Trump supporter, inspired by conspiracy theories about the election. And this is precisely why we should not view antifascists and fascists in the same light. One group is gathering maskless in numbers, bringing bombs, bullets, and bear spray — the same side that shot two community members in December. The side that called for the election to be overturned, and Trump to consolidate power.

The antifascists gather so that the harm and targeting of vulnerable community members comes to an end. Antifascists stand for democracy and protection of our people. Antifascists stand against racism, fascism, tyranny, hatred, and stand for the diversity and inclusion of everyone in our community regardless of color, creed, sexual orientation, et. al.

So what we see now on the streets of Olympia is not an ideological street battle. It’s a battle for the soul, the future, and the fabric of this city, state, and nation. What side are you on?

Miguel Louis, Olympia

Making nuclear weapons Illegal

Two days after the United States inaugurates a new President, the world inaugurates a new era. On Jan. 22, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons enters into force. This treaty prohibits signatories from developing, testing, producing, manufacturing, transferring, possessing, stockpiling, using/threatening to use nuclear weapons, or allowing nuclear weapons to be stationed on their territory.

Passed overwhelmingly by the United Nations General Assembly, signed by 75 nations and ratified by 51, the treaty is a statement that the world’s non-nuclear nations no longer wish to be hostage to the few nations that believe that killing millions of people and blanketing the earth in a nuclear winter is justifiable. The US refused to participate in the treaty development and rejects the ban as impractical and unworkable, claiming that it would hinder disarmament pursuant to the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to which the US is a party.

In that earlier treaty, the non-nuclear nations agreed not to develop nuclear weapons and the five recognized nuclear powers agreed to dismantle their nuclear arsenals. Five decades later, the world is still waiting for the nuclear powers to dismantle those arsenals and is finally saying “No more!” The time has come for the United States and other nuclear-armed nations to comply with this demand.

Mark Fleming, Olympia