Re “Teach reading” (Your Views, Nov. 15): The letter writer says that not prioritizing reading at home is what really leads to the school-to-prison pipeline. I almost jumped on the white privilege bandwagon, screaming, “Get woke, man.” But I realized I knew nothing about the writer except that he also had escaped the reading-learning-thinking link. He’s probably not the average, white, middle-class man I’d first imagined.
Perhaps her family could not afford books when she was a girl, eager for the joys of letters and numbers. His home may have been littered with trash or her parents’ involvement limited by multiple jobs to “keep body and soul together.” Were they too exhausted to wrestle a youngster to learn what the parents missed in their early education — and lacked the energy or courage to pursue when grown up?
My point? It’s too easy to blame everything on parents. The major fault of the dominant U.S. culture may be found in the ease with which we turn from obvious truth: the importance of “community.” Our ignorance overlooks what each person in our home, neighborhood or job provides to sustain us.
None of us need look beyond the end of our nose to see the problem: responsibility that attends privilege. In gathering desired privilege into our well-worn shopping bags, don’t let responsibility fall through a hole in the fabric.
Carol Saul Bayma, Norfolk
It is sad and concerning to watch as students at some of our most respected colleges come out with support for a free Palestine. This idea quietly but essentially says the Jews must leave Israel. These groups also justify what Hamas did during its attack on Israel that started the current war.
So they are saying that murder, rape and kidnapping are justified. What happens when they turn their attention to people in the U.S. who do not support their cause? Will murder, rape and kidnapping be justified in their minds? These people are not misguided; they are dangerous.
The Ivy League universities that have nurtured this cancer need to reassess what they are developing in their students. The Ivy League universities have positioned themselves as the facilitators of hate in America. Inclusivity to them means your included if you agree with us. If you don’t, you need to be silenced at any cost.
David Murphy, Virginia Beach
Israel wipes Hamas off the face of the earth. Yes, there will be a significant number of innocent hostages and other innocent civilians killed. Their deaths — forever remembered as a historic sacrifice for the freedom of mankind.
The U.S. withdraws military forces in the interest of solidarity. Israel supports reconstruction of Gaza and the living conditions of those who remain, and establishes a consulate in Gaza. And it provides significant support for Palestine.
The U.S. financially supports reconstruction missions in Israel and provides support to Palestine. As worldwide tensions settle, the U.S. strikes Iran.
Steven M. Yedinak, 26-year Army veteran, Newport News
Upon reading Wednesday’s Virginian-Pilot, I noticed several encouraging signs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 489 points from the previous day and up almost 2,000 points in the past 10 days. The consumer price index for October was 0% compared to the prior month, meaning prices overall had stayed the same as September, and gas prices were down 5% from September. Mortgage rates are also down slightly. Just stating facts.
Billy Torbush, Virginia Beach
Re “$9.8 billion Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project receives final federal approval” (Oct. 31): At 27 miles away, just exactly how will the U.S. military protect the infrastructure that provides electricity to about 660,000 homes?
Stephen Restaino, Chesapeake
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