Not worth the risk
In response to Mr. Coakley’s Friday My Turn piece titled, “Let The Swimmers Swim,” I have a few observations concerning his logic. As a grandmother of a swimmer whose team won every BIIF title when she was in high school, and who has gone on to swim in college, I want nothing more then for the swimmers to be able to compete in COVID-safe meets.
But I have to ask Jeffrey this, for your scenario to work, wouldn’t every child have to be delivered to the pool in a car by a parent or relative? How would a boarder at HPA, who doesn’t have a parent available here to take them to meets, get there? A team sitting close on a bus to and from the meet is not safe, even with masks on. How many swimmers and their transportation person can fit 6 feet apart in the stands? How about the kids in the locker rooms needing to be supervised?
The colleges and universities understand the current situation and I am sure they could appraise an athlete’s ability by the swimmers times, which could be taken by the official timing clock monitored by an independent third party.
Nothing is more important than our students health, and since many students will only be attending college on line, this may not be worth the risk.
Marian Hughes
Waimea
Help me understand
Like Carol Miles (“Mahalo for taking a stand”— Jan. 13, 2021), I am grateful that Trump supporters like Alohi G. can protest “safely on a corner in Kailua-Kona.” It is a tribute to Big Island residents (over two-thirds of whom are Democrats) who are willing to respect opinions that are in opposition to theirs.
However, I cannot help but wonder how BLM protesters might fare on a street corner in a red state.
Most of all, I cannot understand Ms. Miles’s belief that Trump represents anything that is decent or right or respectful. Does she live on a different planet, or has she been thoroughly brainwashed by right-wing media?
Donald J. Trump does not respect anything or anyone. A narcissistic sociopath and con-man, he uses people to stroke his ego and to enrich his bank account. He is a pathological cheater and liar, a bigot who wraps himself in Fundamentalist Christian rhetoric and the American flag.
His words and actions are the opposite of those of Jesus of Nazareth. After meeting with Evangelical leaders, he commented that he couldn’t imagine how anyone could believe all of that (expletive). A draft dodger, he referred to soldiers as suckers and losers. He endorses putting children in cages, pardons felons and grifters and murderers, embraces white-supremacist terrorists and encourages his followers to believe in ridiculous but dangerous conspiracy theories. He is by far the most immoral and ineffective President we have ever elected.
Despite over 60 court cases and attempts to extort Republican governors and secretaries of state, he has uncovered not one shred of evidence that the election that he lost handily was fraudulent. I’m not offended by any protesters. I am offended by deliberate ignorance and public support of a man who is clearly off the rails.
Kerrill Kephart
Waimea
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