Baltimore editorial was mean-spirited

Regarding the July 27 reprint of the Baltimore Sun’s editorial “Better to have a few rats than to be one,” I must say I was astonished the Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board would reprint and publish such a mean-spirited and nasty commentary. Its tone and selective quotes was something that one would read in a left-wing blog post.

It’s certainly understandable for the Baltimore newspaper to defend their city. It’s another matter for such a rant to be printed in Orlando. As in most cases, there is more to the story.

The Baltimore Sun accused President Trump of racism for calling attention to the plight of Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings’ 7th District.

As quoted in the editorial, Trump said of the district “’no human being would want to live there,’ it is a ‘very dangerous & filthy place.’ …and, our personal favorite: It is a ‘rat and rodent infested mess.’”

A Congressional hearing video shows Cummings referring to his district as a “drug infested area” and likening residents to “walking around like zombies.” Last year, ex-Baltimore mayor Catherine Pugh toured the blighted 7th District and as the stench filled the air, said, “Whoa, you can smell the rats.”

Are these candid quotes by Trump, Cummings and Pugh racist or do they just describe the blighted conditions in the 7th District? It should be noted that these conditions have existed for decades under Democratic administrations.

Orlando

Reaction to deputies troubling

The Sentinel Opinion regarding Lake County’s mild, almost indifferent response to the social media postings of sheriff ’s deputies (“County’s response to deputies’ posts? Meh,” Aug. 1) reminds me of the vital necessity of the importance of the Fourth Estate. Without media coverage this behavior is often shielded from view.

Police officers have a dangerous job to perform and it comes with high physical and emotional stress. That does not give them a pass on unacceptable behavior.

Nonetheless, media posting, whether coming from the subconscious or conscious, tells us who these deputies really are, and when you carry a firearm that can be troubling. In Lake County where the County Commission welcomed the deification by statue of a Confederate general to its Historical Museum, it gives one chills.

I am thankful for Sentinel columnist Lauren Ritchie, for also shining the spotlight on this bad behavior. She is a modernday Mabel Norris Reese, who used her newspaper to fight against the racist Lake County Sheriff Willis McCall.

Clermont