A woman kneels at a memorial Aug, 6, 2019, after a weekend mass shooting at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas.CALLAGHAN O'HARE/Reuters
Letters to the Editor should be exclusive to The Globe and Mail. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. Try to keep letters to fewer than 150 words. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. To submit a letter by e-mail, click here: letters@globeandmail.com
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Gun violence here
Re Gun Violence Erupts Across City During Long Weekend, Injuring 15 (Aug. 6): Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders’s pathetic efforts to reassure the public only serve to underscore the abject failure of the Toronto police to suppress gun violence.
Given the failure of the Trudeau Liberals to impose a national ban on handguns and assault-type weapons, more gun violence, not less, is inevitable.
Scott Burbidge, Port Williams, N.S.
Gun violence there
The anti-Hispanic “manifesto” apparently posted by the El Paso mass shooter suggests a stimulating and timely back-to-school essay topic: Do mass shooters sound like the President of the United States, or does the President echo the message and tone of a mass shooter?
Chester Fedoruk, Toronto
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No president has been able to get to the evil heart of mass shootings. Mass shootings already began escalating sharply during the Obama administration.
I know it’s popular with some to blame President Donald Trump for earthquakes, tsunamis and the weather, but not mass shootings as well.
Cherryl Katnich, Maple Ridge, B.C.
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U.S. President Donald Trump claims that it is mass shooters’ mental illness that pulls the trigger, “not the gun.” I wonder what the shooters would have done if they didn’t have a gun in their hand? Just a thought …
Virginia Baldwin, Vancouver
Brexit? Reverse course
Re After Brexit, Canada And The U.K. Will Become Even Closer Friends (Aug. 6): British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab’s sounds desperate in reaching out to Canada to help bail himself and his ilk out from the mess they have thrust upon my country of origin.
Mr. Raab claims to want to raise the U.K.’s “international horizons” and strengthen its “friendships with countries across the world.” How does turning Britain’s back on Europe fit that scenario? In 2016, many people had little idea of what leaving the European Union might cost them, now they and Mr. Raab do know.
He needs to do the right thing for the British people and reverse this mad course.
Jim Ryan, Toronto
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Dominic Raab’s article feels more like a begging letter than an opinion piece. He and the government he represents are desperate for any sort of trade deal that might possibly make the Brexit sow’s ear look more like a silk purse, but I suspect that if they don’t sort out the Irish border issue, deals of any sort will be hard to come by.
The headline probably should have read: After Brexit, Canada And The U.K. Will Become Even Closer Friends. Please, Oh, Please, Please.
Nigel Brachi, Edmonton
Supremacy’s reach
Re White Supremacy Has Been America’s Undiagnosed Sickness For Two Centuries (Aug . 5): When I saw the headline for Prof. Jared Sexton’s column, I wondered what had happened 200 years ago that had altered or reinforced white supremacy. Of course, in his article he says that it has existed for more than 240 years, obviously referring to the American declaration of Independence in 1776. In fact, slavery existed in America well before then.
Although white supremacy is clearly a problem in North America, there are other forms of dominant group supremacy around the world which are also causing significant hardship and oppression. In China, there may be a problem with Han supremacy; hundreds of thousands of non-Han Chinese are being detained in “re-education camps.” In India, the recent removal of special status from Kashmir may be an example of Hindu supremacy (India Scraps Kashmir’s Law-Making Status – Aug. 6).
In North America, we bear the greatest responsibility for white supremacy. There’s more we can do about it, but we shouldn’t hesitate to speak out about other kinds of dominant-group supremacy worldwide, regardless of our religion or skin colour.
Bruce Couchman, Ottawa
Rx for better food
Re Hospital Food Should Be Part Of The Healing (Aug. 6): I was recently hospitalized for almost three weeks following a stem-cell transplant and the food was beyond appalling. Transplant patients experience overwhelming fatigue and nausea, so nutrition is of utmost importance. I was fortunate to have family and friends bring me real, nutritious food. As emphasized by André Picard, all patients need nourishment for body and soul. Hospitals must acknowledge their responsibility to provide good food.
Susan Janke, Kitchener, Ont.
Bees and butterflies
Re Relax! The Bee-Pocalypse Isn’t Upon Us (Aug. 3): The bees have recovered, yes, but is it worth reflecting that this could be partly because neonicotinoid pesticide usage has been reduced? And yes, the Monarchs are recovering, but is it worth considering that all the milkweeds planted by people concerned by the species’ collapse have contributed to their recovery?
I agree with Margaret Wente that no single villain is to blame for either the bee or the Monarch collapses, but to minimize or dismiss one of the obvious villains – modern agricultural practices that rely far too heavily on pesticides and herbicides and the too-quick removal of plants not used for human consumption – is to deny reality.
Humans are impacting this precious blue and green planet far too heavily. We need to back off from our war with nature.
Deborah Webb, Penticton, B.C.
Hmm. Otiose?
Re How To Beat Trump? Don’t Play His Game (editorial, Aug. 3): Your editorial tells us that many of President Donald Trump’s opponents are “completely ensorcelled.” Hmm. My wife and I, who incidentally are fairly well-educated, both anxiously scratched our heads as we had no idea of what terrible fate may have stricken us, not to our knowledge having previously been ensorcelled – or even having the slightest clue what that involves. Fortunately, a little research disclosed that this mid-16th century French word means “enchanted by a sorcerer.” With relief, we decided that we had not been so enchanted – indeed the opposite.
Could we suggest that your editorial writers, rather than emulating Lord Black of Crossharbour by deliberately using very obscure words, consider using language which more than 1 per cent of readers will comprehend.
“Bewitched,” for example.
David Short, Toronto
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Ensorcelled, irritated, and perplexed am I, paraphrasing the old song. Fortunately, I took Latin at school and understood, but I doubt Donald Trump would.
Rewrite for him, please.
David Handley, Victoria
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