Texas Rangers’ dark side
Like Confederate statues
Regarding “Review: Inquiries by Rangers fall short,” (Sept. 26): The Texas Rangers have a long bloody history of propolice bias, as do many law enforcement agencies in the country including the 1918 Porvenir Massacre, where Texas Rangers murdered innocent villagers while looking for a criminal. The world is more than black and white, as millions of Texan Latinos will testify.
The Texas Rangers and the mythological “Walker, Texas Ranger” on TV are like Confederate statues that must go. Brainwashing the minds of innocent children with such myths is equivalent to abuse. They are symbols of fear, oppression and death to Mexican Americans in Texas. Today’s Rangers, like those of prior times, are clearly not interested in justice, so much as preserving their reputation.
Jorge Martinez, Newman, Calif.
Global unity
Regarding “Biden tells U.N. global unity is a necessity,” (Sept. 22): The pandemic is the latest in a long line of examples which lend credence to President Joe Biden’s view that the security, prosperity and freedoms of the people of the world are interconnected.
Last year, Taiwan partnered with the United States and other like-minded countries to encourage pandemic cooperation. Taiwan has donated face masks and medical supplies to countries in need and those countries have responded in kind with materials, equipment and vaccines.
Despite being excluded from international organizations like the United Nations and World Health Organization, joining international efforts to combat COVID-19 was never in question because Taiwan is very much part of this world.
Global unity is the best way to confront a global challenge — be it a pandemic, climate change or aggressive authoritarianism. International partnerships based on inclusion are important to building a bright future for our interconnected world.
Robert Lo, director general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Houston
The mantra of “America First” has seeped into every level of U.S. politics. Politicians focus less on foreign affairs, and more on policies that directly impact their constituents. However, it is in those indirect effects that many domestic problems arise.
The delta variant has been the talk of every news channel in America for the past month or so. First detected in India, this variant mutated to become more contagious. According to the CDC, the best way to prevent new variants from emerging is by reducing the spread of the virus through high vaccination coverage. The issue? Other countries don’t have the
same ability as the U.S. to distribute vaccines and fight COVID, meaning more variants could arise and kill more people in every country.
Thus, the role of America, as one of the wealthiest nations in the world, should be to bolster the health infrastructure of the entire world. We don’t need to start from scratch. The Global Health and Security Act is an initiative that focuses on developing our global infectious disease response so we can prevent the outbreak of future pandemics and variants. If you haven’t yet, contact your senators and urge them to support this bill.
Ty Gribble, Houston, junior in high school
Vaccine opponents
Regarding “Pitts: Goodbye, and good riddance,” (Sept. 26): I don’t recall having previously seen a column by Leonard
Pitts that I could agree with, but he was so right about those who choose to “quit their jobs rather than submit to a vaccine mandate.” To me their reasoning is outside the boundaries of both common sense and good logic, the exception being anyone who is at risk from the vaccination for medical reasons.
Bill Shaver, Houston Bravo to Leonard Pitts for his worldly and wise, tell-it-like-it-is columns. He echoes my thoughts most all the time, as I, too, am sick of the anti-vaxxers, conspiracy theorists and deniers, and their impact on the lives of all of us level-headed folks who know and understand that Joe Biden and other parts of the government are just trying to protect the masses and get us back to a semblance of normal — for the good of the whole country.
If those folks are so unreasonable that they value their own opinion over a job that pays their bills and supports their families, well, just go and leave this country and try to find one that is as decent and wonderful as our own. You aren’t going to find that; why do you think so many people are trying to immigrate here?
Those who actually get processed and finally obtain work visas would be very happy to take the job you left, get vaccinated, wear a mask if required and have much more common sense than you do.
Like Pitts said, goodbye and good riddance. Don’t let the door hit you on the behind when you leave.
Rusti Stover, Houston