Latest shooting illustrates why so many Black Americans totally distrust the police

On the police

The police are out of control.

They are abusing their authority while citizens of color live in fear of death every time we leave our homes.

This isn’t “paranoia” — which is the term that many use on talk radio and television when they try to explain away what is happening to Black people.

I am tired of seeing my fellow Black men, women and children dying.

Are we only supposed to be Black in private spaces?

Isn’t it enough that we’re also dealing with the threats of possible unemployment and COVID-19?

The worst thing about this is that it’s not even anything new. For some time now Black people have been dying at the hands of those who are sworn to serve and protect all citizens.

When George Floyd was killed by police in May, it was just the wake-up call.

Yet while we see protests going on across America after the recent police shooting in Wisconsin, President Donald Trump continues to talk about the protesters as though they are the problem.

To those people of color who still support Trump, I say, “Shame on you.”

Quentin Moore, Orangeburg

On voting

With South Carolina’s special legislative session set to begin in just a few weeks, all eyes are on election laws.

Back in May Gov. Henry McMaster signed a law that allowed no-excuse absentee voting for the June primary; it enabled any South Carolina voter to request and complete an absentee ballot.

And beginning Sept. 2, legislators will be tasked with deciding how to best safeguard the November general election while keeping South Carolinians safe.

As a state representative since 2003, I have seen my share of election missteps. I worry that we are bound for a déjà vu in September, just two months before a pivotal presidential election.

Proponents of expanding South Carolina’s absentee voting mechanism in November want to replicate the no-excuse absentee voting we passed for the June primary.

But where the “one voter, one vote” principle has been threatened the most is in the states where ballot request forms are no longer used — and where a ballot is being sent to every voter on problematic voter registration rolls.

While South Carolina is fortunate not to have compromised our election integrity to that degree, I remain concerned that a massive influx of mailed ballots would present serious logistical challenges that would threaten voters’ ability to make their voices heard.

No matter what the future holds for no-excuse absentee voting for South Carolinians, the surest way to make your vote count in November will be to cast it in person.

State Rep. Garry Smith, Greenville

Smith represents District 27 and is chairman of the House Operations and Management Committee.

On Strom Thurmond

I wonder if those who want to change the name of the Strom Thurmond Wellness and Fitness Center on the USC campus realize that history — and those who make it — cannot always be fit into tidy narratives with no gray areas.

Strom Thurmond changed a lot over his 101 years.; in fact, Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden gave the eulogy for Thurmond — someone he considered a friend when they served together for years in the U.S. Senate.

“His offices were next door to mine in the Russell Building, or more appropriately mine were next to his,” Biden said of Thurmond. “And over the years, I remember seeing a lot change, including the number of African Americans on his staff and African Americans who sought his help.”

Here is how Biden summed up his view of Thurmond:

“For the man who will see, time heals, time changes and time leads him to truth. But only a special man like Strom would have the courage to accept it, the grace to acknowledge it and the humility in the face of lasting enmity and mistrust to pursue it until the end.”

R.C. Holmes, Columbia

On political ads

I am sick and tired of seeing and hearing political ads that do nothing more than attack the opposition.

Tell me how you’ve worked to serve the country, tell me your vision for the future and tell me what you stand for — or shut the heck up!

Maria Walrath, Columbia

This story was originally published August 27, 2020 at 12:27 PM.