Letters for Sunday, March 31
What a shame
How exciting to have the NCAA tournament play games here in Spokane. And especially exciting, the Gonzaga women play at home and now head to the Sweet 16!
Ah, but the downside. A handful of Coeur d’Alene residents decided to commit racial hate crimes toward the Utah women’s team. Yes, hate crimes. How incredibly unfortunate and disgusting. It was to the point that the Utah team moved to Spokane for the remainder of their stay.
This, coupled with the recent incidence that occurred at Wilson Elementary, (‘dress as slaves’) are so disheartening. Some are saying the Wilson incident was a minor mistake. These behaviors are not minor. People are hurt by these actions. Have some empathy for others. Just a tiny bit, please.
I hope the majority of Idaho residents disagree with the behavior displayed toward Utah’s team. And I hope the city of Coeur d’Alene can recover from this blatant hateful behavior. Otherwise, it’s simply embarrassing to live next door.
As for Wilson Elementary, more than a slap on the hand was needed. All racist actions need to be called out. Enough is enough. People who look different than you deserve every bit of respect as you do. Actually more if you’re a bigoted, biased, hateful person.
Beverly Gibb
Spokane
The perpetrators do represent you
Following the public disclosure of the racist slurs directed at the Utah women’s basketball team, several Coeur d’Alene officials said or implied the perpetrators do not represent us and are not us, meaning Coeur d’Alene and possibly Kootenai County residents.
But the perpetrators do represent you and are you.
Recall that in 2017, following the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, Mr. Trump, then the president, said there were “very fine people” on both sides of the issue. Following that and many other provocative and less than civil statements by Trump, in 2020, 62,837 Kootenai County voters – almost 70% – supported Trump and Pence vs. 24,312 for Biden and Harris.
The 2020 election results suggest there are likely many Coeur d’Alene and Kootenai County residents that whole-heartedly agree that there are many “very fine people” on both sides.
Can you really expect people in Kootenai County to live and act with higher standards than their elected leaders supported by such a large majority of voters? Until the many decent and principled conservative voters accept reality and vote accordingly, many others will be influenced by and follow the example set at the very top.
Kim Anderson
Spokane
Hard to believe
First of all, thank you Spokesman-Review for the excellent coverage of the racial incident occurring on Sherman Avenue in Coeur d’Alene in your March 27 issue! I find it hard to believe that five days have gone by since the March 21 incident and the driver of the truck displaying a Confederate flag yelling racial slurs at members of the University of Utah basketball teams, cheerleaders, band and traveling party have not been identified. And to think that it happened a second time, later, with that same driver, joined by his racist buddies, again revving their truck engines while yelling racial hate speech with no one reporting it is even more unbelievable.
It can’t be the first time that truck has been driven downtown Coeur d’Alene with a Confederate flag. My opinion is that the driver of that truck felt confident enough to menace the University of Utah members knowing he could get away with it with the active support of his buddies and the passive support of the community in which the incident happened.
Forrest Diehl
Spokane
The brackish racist tide
The racist attack perpetrated against members of the Utah women’s basketball team in Coeur d’Alene on March 22 will attract many letters … all too little too late, I fear.
Feeble comments by the Coeur d’Alene mayor and other civic leaders righteously claiming that “this is not Idaho” are delusional wishful thinking. Anyone who can read or listen should be aware of the long and disgusting history of white pseudo-Christian nationalism that permeates the subculture of North Idaho.
Are all North Idahoan’s racists? Absolutely not! However, burying heads in the sand to ignore and overlook such continued behavior is tantamount to acceptance, even encouragement. Whether blatant, in-your-face racism like that which occurred last week, or more subtly disguised remarks by your neighbor, like I hear from many former Californians that are attracted to this culture of “acceptable racism,” it will continue to grow as long as everyday citizens ignore the obvious.
You can only hide or deny the inevitable amoebic growth of such cultural disease for so long before you become part of it, accept it as the norm. Has North Idaho become “white people only” country? That’s what the racists want unless the rest of you stand up and counter the brackish racist tide.
Phillip Moyle
Spokane
Pat Chun abandons WSU
The Great Abandonment continues. The insider’s assessment of the near term future of Cougar sports is being made very clear. And unfortunately it’s becoming increasingly clear that the abandonment will continue. The only positive takeaway is the indication of quality amidst our former quality sports organization.
But really? The Dawgs?! Chun really should be embarrassed and ashamed. Although I’m sure the paycheck somewhat assuages those feelings. My only wish for Chun, and also for all of the deserting institutions, is that your sports teams fall upon the hard times that you so richly deserve due to the self-centered, near-sighted and, may I add, money-grubbing choices you have made. Last comment: good riddance!
Glenn Wallmark
Vancouver, Washington
Legacy of open records under threat
Polarization doesn’t apply just to the right and the left or the haves and have nots. One area of polarization is trust in government, regardless of it being local, state or national. Some trust, some don’t. Trust building rules include “show your work.” Shawn Vestal’s column on March 17 (“Legacy of open records in Washington under threat”) articulated the findings of the Washington Coalition for Open Government well (washcog.org) in the report “Your Right to Know.”
People will probably trust government if they can see how it operates. This is a benefit of public meeting laws and the Freedom of Information Act. Public records are not government records, they belong to the people who should, in most cases, have access to them. One challenge is there are so many records they are just difficult to find. Record retrieval should be simply part of the job. The solution is to help agencies with their retrieval system, not tell the public they can’t have the records or, worse yet, delay requests to the point of hopeless frustration. One of the reasons given for secrecy and the use of “legislative privilege” is to protect the public, despite safeguards already in place. Another is to prevent elected official’s embarrassment – hardly a justification for secrecy.
The election system is a good example of how to narrow the trust gap. It shows how elections are actually conducted, ballots handled and signatures verified. Trust in government process increases. This transparency should be a model for other agencies.
Lunell Haughat
Spokane
Not the time for changes to digital advertising
As we gear up for a wild election year, I hope that those running for the White House and Congress take their time to really listen to their constituents, especially small business owners. Our own U.S. Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers could definitely benefit from some listening. Despite the fact that she is retiring at the end of this term, she has committed to a comprehensive “data privacy” bill prior to leaving office – if the past is any indication, this bill would likely hurt me and every other small business.
Rep. McMorris Rodgers is no stranger to this fight, as she has spearheaded the push to pass what would be the disastrous American Data Privacy and Protection Act. ADPPA takes inspiration from Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation, which according to UC Berkeley’s Center for Long-term Cybersecurity, has created barriers to entry for smaller businesses, harmed civil liberties and, disturbingly, led to uneven enforcement that disproportionately hurts some of society’s most vulnerable.
America’s digital economy supports businesses of all sizes, and as a builder, carpenter and business owner, digital ads play a vital role in identifying and reaching my customers. My company, Northwest Renewables, specializes in the construction and integration of energy-efficient technology into high-performance buildings, and digital has been our best avenue for marketing. If we dismantle our vibrant, competitive and anonymous digital economy, we risk destroying one of the few egalitarian resources that levels the playing field.
Gavin Tenold
Spokane