Letters: No maskers are dangerous, Richland School District choice and more | Nov. 12

No maskers are a danger too society

I was annoyed to see a couple of goober (foolish) women shopping at the Richland Winco market without wearing face masks that mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus. They were obviously making a political statement and looking for trouble.

Hopefully, they were not allowed to purchase their groceries at the checkout stations.

Were they just following the lead of our goober president, who turned a crisis into a tragedy by failing to initiate appropriate national actions to prevent the spread of this virus, who downplayed its severity, for months refused to wear a mask, and encouraged states to drop all business restrictions designed to slow the spread of the virus because the effect on the economy and the loss of jobs? Meanwhile, the virus continues to spread and has killed more than 211,000 Americans (as of this writing) and sickened many more thousands.

Regardless whether these shoppers thought the Washington state governor and secretary of health exceeded their constitutional authority with various proclamations to prevent the spread of the virus or that all business restrictions should be lifted because of the effect on the economy and the loss of jobs, they are a menace to society and a danger to themselves.

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Thoughts on role of police, protest

I stand with the police as long as they aren’t in the KKK or rednecks. However, it’s time that the state governments take notice that the protesters have our attention. Maybe lack of oversight has spurred the people in the streets to look elsewhere when it comes to police brutality.

I think that oversight should be awarded to the people in the streets as long as the police continue to shoot black people. And as long as the police go around making people fear them, I think they should be under the watch of the protesters who can be deputized. As soon as power is given to the guy in the street, the police will change and under this oversight sensitivity training and even teaching officers Latino would be effective ways to ensure that justice isn’t forgotten.

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RSD missed when it chose Gosney

I’m a Valedictorian from a Tri-Cities high school. To my disappointment, the Richland School District has chosen Ken Gosney as its newest board member, rather than Rama Devagupta, who earned 45% of the popular vote in the actual school board election. While I’m sure Ken is a lovely man, this is a tone deaf and unfair decision in such a trying time in America. Rather than bring some desperately needed diversity and a PhD in science during a global pandemic to the Richland School Board, overseeing a school district where nearly 1/5 of citizens are people of color, a white man who didn’t bother to put in the hard work to run in 2019 was chosen.

The message the Richland School District is sending to its current female students of color is starkly clear; no matter how qualified you are or how hard you work to earn something, a white man who didn’t put in the same level of effort is still more likely to win. This decision makes me embarrassed to be a recent graduate from the Tri-Cities. In the future, I hope it becomes easier for people of color to have a voice on the Richland School Board.

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Letter writer’s idea a good one

The letter by Diane Bagley (Oct. 9) suggesting Electoral College votes be apportioned based on votes of individual congressional districts instead of the current statewide winner take-all non-apportionment is the most intelligent reform idea I’ve heard. And, it would not even require a constitutional amendment as abolishing the Electoral College would.

This story was originally published November 12, 2020 at 4:54 PM with the headline "Letters: No maskers are dangerous, Richland School District choice and more | Nov. 12."