The Readers’ Forum: Monday letters – Winston-Salem Journal

KENNETH D. VANHOY, Kernersville

Ignorance showed up on the front page of the Journal on Feb. 15 (Protesters urge Burr to save health-care act). They want Sen. Richard Burr to hold a town meeting. For one purpose only. They want to show their true colors by throwing slurs and ignorant remarks at him, just like the idiots did in Washington on Jan. 21. This kind of rhetoric comes from immoral, uneducated, illiterate people.

This newspaper has printed all of the insults that have been thought of by writers to The Readers Forum against President Trump and the Republicans. I hope that you will have the decency to print a few remarks from the other side.

By the way, we have a governor, Roy Cooper, and a few other immoral people, such as popular basketball coaches, who fit the requirements to enter Satans hot house. They oppose HB2.

Our young people have been filled with inherited ignorance from high school to college and from their homes, where it all begins. The Democratic Party and the ACLU are the main supporters of this corruption. As long as we hold onto this way of life we will never have a country to be proud of.

MARY MARTHA SMOAK, Winston-Salem

I thought for a long time about Scott Sextons Feb. 26 column, Toddlers shooting is more than just an accident. Thats a fair summary of the absolute neglect of parents to safely store a handgun.

I know the parents are experiencing great sorrow over the pain and suffering of their 2-year-old son. I am not hard-hearted. I am a parent to two grown children and the grandmother of a toddler and preschooler. I am sure the parents of the victim in question never intended for the 2-year-old to shoot himself.

But what else might one expect when leaving a loaded gun in plain view of a toddler in an unattended vehicle for even two minutes?

The class-one misdemeanor is at best a weak law when a child is harmed.

Sextons column outlines statistics collected by many others who are concerned with the harm and death resulting from guns owned by adults in this country who apparently are not competent of gun ownership for self-protection or hunting wildlife.

The National Rifle Association and a Congress that is willing to be manipulated by the almighty dollar seem to be a Goliath that cant be taken down. When all the useless deaths and accidental and/or mass shootings of children and adults in America do not lead to justifiable change in ownership of fire arms, what are we to do? Writing letters and making calls to our representatives seems to have little if any effect in reducing the pain and suffering of the innocent.

TRACY STOTTLER, Kernersville

The writer of the Feb. 28 letter A simple admonition says the protest against the billboard, Real men provide. Real women appreciate it. is just another sign of intolerant political correctness. I always find it curious that people in this country, which was founded by a group resisting government oppression, want to mock and devalue the importance of protests.

The Civil War was a protest. Women were given the right to vote through protesting. Desegregation happened because of protest. I think many people have become so complacent and accepting of things that they forget the value of protesting. Or maybe some people are more focused on their own interests or just dont care. Everyone has that choice, but they should not judge and disparage the people who feel otherwise.

The women (and men) who were at this event see an issue with patriarchy that needs to change. No one really knows the intent of the billboard because it is anonymous. But to many, it sends a message of subjugation to women. Yes, women can vote, women can drive, women can work. However, if women were truly equal, our government and C-suites would be more fully represented. Women would be paid the same. And women wouldnt be subjected to domestic violence, rape, prostitution, human trafficking or other grotesque offenses.

So rather than simply dismiss a large group of peaceful protesters as a band of loud, liberal complainers, perhaps look deeper and ask, Tell me more and How can I help?

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The Journal welcomes original submissions for guest columns on local, regional and statewide topics. Essay length should not exceed 750 words. The writer should have some authority for writing about his or her subject. Our email address is: Letters@wsjournal.com. Essays may also be mailed to: The Readers Forum, P.O. Box 3159, Winston-Salem, NC 27102. Please include your name and address and a daytime telephone number.

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The Readers' Forum: Monday letters - Winston-Salem Journal