Recent Bennett cartoon an insult to Marines
I am an 83-year-old retired Marine first sergeant. I was and am appalled when I viewed the Clay Bennett cartoon in the June 13 Times Free Press. The image of a Marine Corps sergeant not saluting the president properly was unbelievable and unjustified.
Bennett needs to find other means to get his point across instead of using the U.S. military. The military served and died for his ability to earn a living as a political cartoonist.
Marines properly salute the president of the United States at all times. They salute their president and commander-in-chief regardless of who is president at the time. Showing a Marine in dress blues not saluting the president properly is an assault on all U.S. Marines.
Alvin Shipp
Rossville, Georgia
Stymied over support for incapable president
Insensitive? But I sort of expected this despite COVID-19: Trump supporters in Tulsa, Oklahoma, lining up like lemmings.
I used to be stumped at the "why" of Trump voters, but not now. In the '60s I witnessed Moonies.
Are extremism, ideology, climate denial and racism the order of the day? I marvel, given the behavior of the president, why evangelicals support him.
I feel sad that Donald Trump is dividing this country in an "us against them" way. Polarization is another word for debacle.
Divisiveness, chaos, distraction are straight out of Donald Trump's playbook.
But I mean no malice, yet I think behind the scenes he prizes his core voters more than uniting the country.
When he speaks, he speaks in platitudes and hyperbole. He generalizes, oversimplifies important issues.
But yes, you might think I don't like him; you might think I think the same of his supporters. But I don't. In situations I'd love to engage them.
Why do I bother with my opinions? I do so when I recently became so angry about rally-goers potentially putting others around them in danger.
Mr. Trump and Mr. Pence have set bad examples by not wearing masks. They politicize wearing them when the CDC recommends them.
Mike Bodine
Killing 'wave' an unfortunate myth
A nationally known black commentator recently said on TV that we "have had a wave of police killings of Blacks." None of the other commentators on the panel challenged this. There have been instances, but a "wave" is simply an exaggeration. Not only do newsmen, in general, lack the fortitude to point out how small the number of controversial killings of Blacks is, but they almost never correct those perpetuating this myth.
No wonder Blacks are worked up. They are bombarded with these unjustified charges of huge numbers of killings by white cops. Where such killings do occur, the news immediately jumps on them with moans of the deep injustice of police in general. These grossly inflated charges do a great disservice to the high percentage of police who conduct themselves with honor and decency every day.
It must be remembered cops on the beat are in constant contact with some of the worst of our society. That they are generally restrained in the face of much provocation is to be applauded, and they should not be lumped in with such idiots as the one in Minneapolis who killed the Black man there.
Bart McPherson
Hiawassee, Georgia