Trump and the new calm: Letters to the editor, March 24, 2021

Peace, quiet in wake of Trump’s noise

Have you ever stopped for a second and realized how peaceful and quiet this country has become since Trump left office?

Of course, it’s not perfect by any means. Trump’s racist followers, militia groups and domestic terrorists are still around, waiting for an opportunity to strike again. But we don’t have to be bombarded daily by his nonstop lies, racist remarks, name-calling, baseless claims about how the election was stolen from him, incitement for violence, etc.

More than 400,000 people died of COVID-19 while Trump kept telling us the virus would just go away and disappear. The United States became the laughingstock of the entire world under his regime. Hopefully, it can regain the status of the world leader soon that it once was.

Fresno inequity as felt on bad roads

When this pandemic began I had to switch jobs from an in-person counseling position to a much safer food delivery driver. Since switching jobs, I have had the opportunity to drive around the city. I quite enjoy the drive, especially north of Nees Avenue. My car sits low and I notice every bump and pothole. That is never an issue out there where the mansions roam free.

I disliked driving at my last job off Jensen and MLK Blvd. That drive was the worst I had to experience for a year and a half. The condition of the roads is atrocious. The same can be said for the southeast side of Fresno.

There should be an even amount of money being spent on infrastructure across the map. The people forced to drive these roads see frequent repair bills on their vehicles due to excessive wear and tear. Adding to the setbacks from an unequal economy. This also becomes a safety hazard for children, the elderly, and family pets that enjoy the neighborhood. Someone should be the voice for the voiceless. The smallest things can make the biggest impact.

Is lowering standards right?

The Central Unified plan to boost graduation rates by lowering graduation standards sounds like a great idea. Why not apply this thinking to all aspects of our modern lives that require education, training, licensing and demonstration of skills.

Think of how many more doctors we could have by simply lowering the standards. Doctor shortage solved. Why didn't we think of this sooner? In an America of lower standards we could have more bridges, planes, medicines, parachutes, etc. I applaud Central Unified and their downward push toward mediocrity.

Fresno PD and mental health

Our redoubtable truthteller Marek Warszawski repeated (The Bee, March 10) the dark story of the death of Joseph Perez involving seven cops and a man “acting strangely.” Perez’s actions involved no threats or violence but they cost him his life because the police . . . well, what? Feared him or what? They couldn’t deal with a man talking to himself and gesturing? Do our police mirror America’s inability to accommodate anything that seems “strange” or foreign?

In “Transcendent Kingdom,” a recent novel by the Ghanian-American writer Yaa Gyasi, an 11-year old in a busy open-air market place in Ghana observes a man mumbling to himself and “making gestures that only he could understand.” No one reacts to the man with fear or disgust except the child’s aunt, who points out the mumbler as an example of craziness, though he seems to the child to be in “perfect peace.” 

Which scene best illustrates what civilization is, the Ghanian marketplace or the Fresno corner of Dakota and Palm four years ago?

This story was originally published March 24, 2021 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Trump and the new calm: Letters to the editor, March 24, 2021."