Marathon rules

I just saw the news and the Boston Marathon is going to exclude anyone who lives in Russia and Belarus. So that means people from everywhere can come here and demonstrate and burn the American flag but Russians can’t run a race. I have no sympathy for the Russian army or government, but just a couple of years ago Trump was lambasted for calling COVID-19 the Chinese virus. Why is one wrong and the other OK?

Asians were assaulted and they blamed Trump’s rhetoric. What if Russians living here receive the same fallout? The virus has killed how many? It isn’t the Chinese people here or in China’s fault, it’s their leadership. The same can be said of the Russian people. They would probably love to give Putin the boot. We all need to get on the same page in regard to what’s acceptable here and what’s not.

When leaders here speak of China or Russia or France, Americans need to realize that it’s the governments they are referring to not the citizens of that country and definitely not the people here who are of the same ethnicity, religion, etc. We should all understand that our values do not always track with the decisions made by our leaders. Russians didn’t invade Ukraine, Putin did. The Chinese people didn’t keep the COVID-19 outbreak a secret, China’s government did.

The blame is at the top.

Unfortunately in this country of ours no one takes responsibility. It’s always someone else’s fault. Trump, Putin, the oil companies, COVID-19, the Democrats, the Republicans. How about this: You are all guilty. Now can we move on and try to fix all the problems that you have all had a part in creating? — David Kelly, Norfolk