Difficult circumstances
In response to the Jan. 6 letter, “Safety first,” it couldn’t be more clear that the author, though well intended, does not have an understanding of the circumstances in which many of our Alachua County children are living. Saying parents “should not be concerned about their jobs” if “both parents work” or “Florida schools are not built to stay warm in extreme temperatures” are all statements that display a vast unawareness.
To a parent in a minimum-wage job living paycheck to paycheck, missing a day’s work might mean not enough money to buy food or put gas in a car or pay a utility bill. Money to pay a babysitter? I think not. In many families there is no “both” parents, but a single parent relying on getting paid every day to support his or her family.
Having taught in Alachua County for 30-plus years, I can assure the author that every school has heat and is well equipped to handle “extreme” temperatures in the low 30s. I completely agree that safety comes first and to many children, their safest and warmest place to be is at school.
Candy Pigott, Gainesville
Unethical therapy
A Jan. 5 letter, “Liberal fascism,” decries a countywide ban on conversion therapy, whose objective is to make gay individuals straight. The writer argues if an individual wants this therapy, who are we to stand in the way?
Yet there are very good reasons why this ban is appropriate, and they have nothing to do with liberal or conservative views. According to the American Psychiatric Association, being gay is not a disease. Further, conversion therapy is known to be ineffective and possibly harmful at achieving its goal.
In other words, on two fronts, conversion therapy is unethical. Even the letter writer would probably agree that any “treatment” should not be approved by the Food and Drug Administration unless it has an evidentiary basis for its safety and effectiveness.
Nondiscrimination against any class of people is a human value, not a liberal or conservative value.
Jon Shuster, Gainesville
The sky isn’t falling
Nathan Crabbe’s Jan. 7 a column was written solely for the gloomy set who firmly believe the sun would surely shine brighter had only Donald Trump not triumphed.
Crabbe and his fellow depressives should cue up Bobby McFerrin's 1988 hit song "Don't Worry, Be Happy" on their favorite streaming service and listen to it on repeat a few thousand times. Instead of opting for something positive to spotlight from 2017 (The economy, the stock market, the roll-back of harmful regulations, or how about just being grateful for your health and well-being?), we get the sad old “sky is falling” routine that has become beyond tiresome.
It's true, there is much to cause worry in the world, but there are people near and far who have legitimate reasons to bemoan the previous year — the previous day, for that matter. And I don't think they care one iota who is or isn't president.
Jeff Hyatt, Gainesville
Humpty Dumpty
The Democrats should quit picking on Trump and threatening to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove him from office. Let him finish out his term! There is a greater chance that the modern Republican Party will be broken into pieces with Trump leading it for another three years than if Trump is ruled an imbecile by the courts and removed from office.
Trump is Humpty Dumpty. When he falls off the wall, Republicans will not be able to put the Republican Party together again — a sad ending for the great liberal party of Abraham Lincoln.
Henry Sheldon, Gainesville
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