BRONX TIMES REPORTER, AUG.BTR 27-SEPT. 2, 2021 13
letters & comments
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To the Editor,
In limbo dancing, going
low is a good thing, but not
when writing a political column,
especially when that
column is disguised as a civic
service. In the Aug. 20 Bronx
Times Reporter edition, the
COMACTA mouthpiece criticizes
President Biden for using
“incendiary language”
which is sowing division in
the country.
This claim begs the question,
why didn’t the columnist
offer the same condemnation
when Trump used infl ammatory
and derogatory language
on a near daily basis? Wasn’t
divisiveness the hallmark
of the Trump presidency?
Biden’s long political career
has been characterized by
consensus building and he
is respected as a conciliator,
in sharp contrast to the demeanor
and character of the
45th president.
The writer attempts to
whitewash the GOP votersuppression
movement as innocent
and not “in any manner,
discriminatory or racist”
despite its focus on disenfranchising
unlikely Republican
voters. Even more alarming
is the Republican effort
to usurp the power of local
election offi cials. In such a
scenario, partisan Republicans
could skew an election
in their direction and subvert
the will of the voters by controlling
the process in Democratic
counties.
The extreme right-wing
columnist also implies that
Biden should be prosecuted
for “incitement to riot.” That
was not a misprint. Biden
— not Trump — should be
charged with urging supporters
to riot. This despite
Trump’s provocative statements
on Jan. 6, when he
urged the insurrectionists
to “stop the steal” and stated
in his quaint fashion, “This
is the most corrupt election
in the history, maybe of the
world.”
The suspension of disbelief,
requiring the total avoidance
of critical thinking or
logic, is necessary to accept
this faulty premise. The columnist
wants the reader
to join him in his journey
through the looking glass. I
urge all readers to disavow
this voyage to fantasyland
and to analyze and evaluate
information in an unbiased
manner.
Pasqual Pelosi
To the Editor,
You probably missed this
in the rush of news, but there
was actually a report that
someone in Pakistan had
published in a newspaper, an
offer of a reward to anyone
who killed an American, any
American.
So an Australian dentist
wrote an editorial the following
day to let everyone know
what an American is. So they
would know when they met
one. (Good one, mate!)
“An American is English
or French, or Italian, Irish,
German, Spanish, Polish,
Russian or Greek. An American
may also be Canadian,
Mexican, African, Indian,
Chinese, Japanese, Korean,
Australian, Iranian, Asian or
Arab, or Pakistani or Afghan.
An American may also
be a Comanche, Cherokee,
Osage, Blackfoot, Navajo,
Apache, Seminole or one of
the many other tribes known
as Native Americans.
An American is Christian,
or he could be Jewish
or Buddhist, or Muslim. In
fact, there are more Muslims
in America than in Afghanistan.
The only difference is
that in America, they are free
to worship as each of them
chooses.
An American is also free
to believe in no religion. For
that he will answer only to
God, not to the government,
or to armed thugs claiming to
speak for the government and
for God.
An American lives in the
most prosperous land in the
history of the world.
The root of that prosperity
can be found in the Declaration
of Independence, which
recognizes the God-given
right of each person to the
pursuit of happiness.
An American is generous.
Americans have helped out
just about every other nation
in the world in their time of
need, never asking a thing in
return.
When Afghanistan was
over-run by the Soviet army
20 years ago, Americans
came with arms and supplies
to enable the people to win
back their country.
As of the morning of Sept.
11, Americans had given
more than any other nation to
the poor in Afghanistan.
The national symbol of
America, The Statue of Liberty,
welcomes your tired and
your poor, the wretched refuse
of your teeming shores,
the homeless, tempest tossed.
These in fact are the people
who built America.
Some of them were working
in the Twin Towers the
morning of Sept. 11, 2001,
earning a better life for their
families. It’s been told that
the World Trade Center victims
were from at least 30 different
countries, cultures and
fi rst languages, including
those that aided and abetted
the terrorists.
So you can try to kill an
American if you must. Hitler
did. So did General Tojo, and
Stalin, and Mao Tse-Tung,
and other blood-thirsty tyrants
in the world. But, in
doing so you would just be
killing yourself. Because
Americans are not a particular
people from a particular
place. They are the embodiment
of the human spirit of
freedom. Everyone who holds
to that spirit, everywhere, is
an American.”
Submitted by
Cathy Praino
LET US HEAR FROM YOU
Letters to the editor are welcome from all readers. They should be addressed
care of this newspaper to Laura Guerriero, Publisher, the Bronx Times Reporter,
3604 E. Tremont Ave., Bronx, NY 10465, or e-mail to bronxtimes@cnglocal.com.
All letters, including those submitted via e-mail, MUST be signed and with a
verifi able address and telephone number included.
Note that the address and telephone number will NOT be published and the
name will be published or withheld upon request.
No unsigned letters can be accepted for publication. The editor reserves the
right to edit all submissions.
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