Is it really such an inconvenience for South Carolinians to wear face masks? Really?
On COVID-19
I believe we should stop all the noise and think about the multiple inconveniences that many people endure every day of their lives.
For example, just consider the poor, the homeless, the abused, the elderly in nursing homes and the children with special needs.
Their lives are a constant challenge, and hardship is a way of life.
So how hard is it for us to protect our fellow citizens by taking some simple precautions during an ongoing worldwide pandemic?
Even if you have a belief system that prevents you from believing that the coronavirus pandemic is real, is it that inconvenient to wear a mask and practice social distancing?
Consideration. Humility. Empathy. Compassion.
Have these character traits just become too “inconvenient” to possess anymore?
Rhonda Marino, Columbia
On our leaders
Some years ago there was a certain section of Trenholm Road that was notorious for being known as a speed trap. Eventually, however, the speed trap disappeared — and you suddenly saw motorists driving down an essentially residential road at highway-type speeds.
So let’s fast forward to today and ask this question: Are you really surprised that the confirmed cases of COVID-19 began to skyrocket after the mandatory closures and self-quarantines were ended?
Once we looked to elected officials to make tough decisions because we were wise enough to know that left alone, far too many people will only think of their selfish whims and scoff at any notions of civic responsibility.
But where are our leaders now?
Tim Mueller, Columbia
On the police
Trust between police and the communities they serve is the foundation of a civilized society. Unfortunately, that trust has eroded after so many controversial killings of our fellow citizens — like Julian Betton here in Myrtle Beach, Breonna Taylor in Louisville and the countless others whose stories we may have heard or read little about.
One reason why it can be so hard to spot problem officers within police departments is because police accountability suffers from an unwritten code of silence that is backed up by state laws, union contracts that make it difficult to prosecute wrongdoing and even policies that allow disciplinary records to be destroyed after a specific period of time.
Why is it that we expect our citizens to uphold their end of our society’s social contract by not rioting or looting, but we don’t expect the same from the police when they harm other Americans?
We must hold our police officers, police departments and cities accountable for their actions — or for their lack of action.
Amber Elaine, Myrtle Beach
On crime
During the recent Father’s Day weekend in Chicago, 104 people were shot, 14 of them were killed and five of those who lost their lives were children.
Where is your outrage about that?
Gene Sansbury, Columbia
On Saxon
The recent discussion about renaming USC’s Strom Thurmond Wellness and Fitness Center, which sits in the heart of Columbia’s historic Ward One, has produced several good suggestions.
The most popular suggestion is to rename the center after title-winning USC women’s basketball head coach Dawn Staley, who is certainly worthy of any honor that USC might bestow upon her. However, the most meaningful act of redemption USC could make is to rename the center in honor of Celia Dial Saxon.
Born in enslavement some eight years before the end of the Civil War, Saxon graduated from USC’s Normal School for teachers during the Reconstruction Era.
A dedicated educator, Saxon taught in Columbia schools for 55 years, including many years at Booker T. Washington High School (which is now part of the university campus).
Saxon was so beloved as a teacher that when she died thousands of citizens attended the viewing in Booker T. Washington High’s auditorium. And Saxon was so respected by administrators that the school board named an elementary school in her honor in 1930.
Saxon Elementary went on to produce a rich legacy of teachers — including the legendary civil rights activist Septima Clark — who profoundly impacted hundreds of African American students from Ward One and the surrounding communities.
And for decades, Saxon Elementary stood along Blossom Street in Ward One until USC eventually claimed the land for expansion, and displaced and demolished the Ward One community from the 1960s onward. In fact, Saxon Elementary stood exactly on the ground where the fitness center complex was built by the university.
On behalf of the officers and members of the Ward One Reunion Organization, I encourage USC to stand firm against racism — and demonstrate its commitment to equity and inclusion — by renaming the center as the Celia Dial Saxon Wellness and Fitness Center.
Mattie Johnson Roberson, Columbia
Mattie Johnson Roberson is president of the Ward One Reunion Organization.