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Your Words: letters to the editor + Clay Jones’ comic
In last week’s annual Best of Orlando® awardapalooza issue (Aug. 25), you spelled out your favorites in more than 150 Readers Poll categories. One category in particular, Best Use of Public Money, returned a beauty of a result: A majority of voters said they thought the best use of government budgets would be “defunding the police and investing in poor communities of color.” The idea of defunding police is a controversial one, of course, which may simply boil down to a kneejerk response to the word “defund,” which doesn’t accurately reflect the movement’s actual goal: to shift some money away from police budgets into mental health resources and community response teams. Readers had plenty to say, and this is just a sample.
@Alan Zark Rather than “defund” police, wouldn’t a better phrase be “demilitarize” the police … make them less of a civilian army and more of a community protector? Actually I recall much of this was tied to the “war on drugs” and also reflects the military mindset of many of today’s police departments. We need a reset. They have to stop thinking of themselves as the “guardian” of the city and start becoming the protector of the people in it … we also need to do something about this “shoot every damn bullet you have” mentality, which results in so many deaths. I thought the aim of police work was to capture alleged criminals and let the courts determine guilt or innocence, not that the police were judge, jury and executioner.
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@Janet Ivey “Defund” is the wrong term. What people want is some of the funding to go to help mentally ill people who all too often do not get the help they need, and it ends up in tragedy. Far too much police time and attention is taken away by responding to issues regarding the homeless (loitering), especially those with mental issues.
@Stephanie LiVigni It’s easier said than done to shift the culture of the whole field towards community outreach and protection compared to what it is now.
Last week we reported that Krispy Kreme had announced that from Monday, Aug. 30, to Sunday, Sept. 5, they will give two free doughnuts to any guest who can provide proof of vaccination. If said vaxxed-and-glazed customers choose to take advantage of the offer every day it’s on, so be it. And wow, we’ve never seen so many people so upset by other people getting “Hot Now.”
@Agnes Frackiewicz Idiots. Get vaccinated and eat two donuts that equal out to 800 calories with no nutritional value.
@Lori Sabattini And it’s diabetics that are one of the most vulnerable. SMH
@Shelley Hefner Sickening. First they kill you with sugar. Good luck to those of you who are taking their medical advice. Other countries are laughing at us for our ignorance.
@Teri O’Connor Other countries are absolutely laughing at us. We’re the idiots not taking the vaccine while they’re begging for it.
‘FULL APPROVAL VS. FULLY QRAZY’ BY CLAY JONES
