Unfettered Letters

Cheers for Shawnee Mission East

Three cheers and many more for the students, teachers, principal and parents at Shawnee Mission East High School for standing up to Fred Phelps and his disturbed, despicable, ragtag band of losers (2/6, Local, “A protest sparks a counterprotest”).

They will know better than to ever return to Shawnee Mission East. What a great example the school showed the rest of us.

Laura R. Hockaday
Kansas City

Counterprotest to Rev. Phelps

Dear Rev. Phelps,

Thank you for having your church members visit Shawnee Mission East (2/6, Local, “A protest sparks a counterprotest; Hundreds outside Shawnee Mission East High School rally against an anti-gay message”). I believe it was hugely successful in awakening the community’s need to support its own. It was wonderful to see students, parents and members of the community rally to support their views of tolerance for others.

While we live comfortably in our insulated slice of suburbia, we are reminded that the only requirement for evil to flourish is for good people to stand by and do nothing.

Watching the highlights, I was drawn to pictures of some of your supporters stepping on the American flag and signs to the effect that we should pray for the death of soldiers in Afghanistan. It’s rather ironic that you would call for the demise of the people who have fought, suffered and died to grant you the freedom to express your views.

Again, thank you for helping us realize that we need to be vigilant and vocal when others are being persecuted because they are different. Call me for lunch. My former Marine friends would love to join us.

Daniel S. Slosburg
Mission Hills

Phelps’ funeral protests

I do not understand how Mike Burlingame (1/19, Letters, “Protecting free speech”) can compare the marchers for women’s rights and the freedom marchers of the ’60s to Fred Phelps. Mr. Phelps and his band of followers are putting up terrible signs at the funerals of fallen heroes.

I would like the American Civil Liberties Union to explain how the band of followers can infringe on the rights of the families to bury their loved ones.

As a Christian and a Vietnam veteran, I find the ACLU and Phelps quite disgusting.

John A. Smith
Kansas City

‘Free speech’ and the ACLU

I have a question for Mike Burlingame (1/19, Letters, “Protecting free speech”) who wrote in regard to Fred Phelps’ protests: “The ACLU is only ensuring that everyone gets their constitutional right of free speech.” If that is so, why are the Christian attorneys of Alliance Defense Fund and the Liberty Counsel having to fight all across the U.S. to protect free speech that the American Civil Liberties Union is trying to destroy?

Christian attorneys are winning the battle against the ACLU because the ACLU attorneys are using scare tactics to get public offices, schools, businesses and even homeowners organizations to get them to prevent Christians from using their right to free speech.

Are Christians the exception to the right to free speech? Not according to the many biographies I have read about our founding fathers who constructed the Constitution or influenced the writing of it.

Roland Sneed
Blue Springs

Protecting free speech

I agree with John Gaines (1/13, Letters) that Fred Phelps and his antics are disgusting. But Mr. Gaines seems to unfairly paint the American Civil Liberties Union with the same brush. The ACLU is only ensuring that everyone gets their Constitutional right of free speech.

Many Americans believe that controversial views should be subject to some sort of popularity contest. If this were true, African-Americans and women, for example, would never have gained their civil rights.

Mike Burlingame
Overland Park

Disgusted with Phelps’ funeral protests

The propensity of Fred Phelps’ church to protest at military funerals, as backed by the American Civil Liberties Union, is absolutely disgusting (1/9, Local, “St. Joseph sued over ordinance”).

These soldiers died for this country. They died to continue to protect the rights of all citizens, and these people show their appreciation by parading with disparaging signs at their funerals. What’s worse is that they don’t know the soldiers. They don’t know about their families and loved ones, and they don’t feel the sorrow of their loss.

I guess their motivating factor is that they might get their picture in the paper.

John Gaines
Prairie Village

Focus on real problems

A group called Moms Ask Mattel for Accountability has expressed concern that Mattel’s “Little Mommy” doll utters pro-Islam phrases. Fisher-Price responded that the doll makes real baby sounds with no word or sentence structure.

Suggestions to Moms Ask Mattel for Accountability:

Babies about 6 months old, like the doll is supposed to be, usually do not speak in sentences.

Have you checked to see if, played backwards, it is a message from the devil?

Toys for Tots is collecting toys, Project Warmth is collecting coats and blankets, and Harvesters is collecting food, just to give a few examples. Use that energy for something positive. The toy companies are not out to get you.

In other words, get a life. Real problems exist, and people who want to make a real difference are working on real solutions.

Lee Biard
Lenexa

U.S. wastes golden opportunity

As disappointing as it was to see the U.S. collect 15 fewer gold medals than China, American athletes’ performances outside their respective playing surfaces won a far greater portion of my disappointment.

For a three-week window, during which these athletes had the greatest audience listening to their every word, all went silent. American athletes stated that the Olympics were neither the time nor place for politics, referencing the genocide in Darfur.

The Olympics should be the world’s greatest forum. The only thing having no place should be violence. So, whoever started the ruckus in Georgia is really the only one being impolite, but that’s an argument for another day.

The First Amendment allows any one citizen to speak out without having to reflect the opinions of the government, or of all citizens. This is why U.S. athletes missed the golden opportunity to show support for Darfur, having been given the ability to speak out without putting the U.S., as a whole, into any sort of conflict with other nations.

Despite earning 110 medals, the, U.S. failed to succeed in the challenge more important than sport, in which human lives, rather than medals, are at stake.

Michael King
Kansas City

Peace rally signs

This is in response to Ross Balano’s Blog Bit (5/22, Opinion, “You call this a peace rally?”): My husband and I carry signs at the peace rallies that say, “Out of Iraq Now, Not to Iran.” But we also know the reason we are in Iraq is because of Bush and Cheney’s actions.

Since rallies are an expression of democratic freedoms, other people have the right to carry signs with any messages they want. As a result, many of our colleagues’ signs connect Bush and Cheney with the war itself.

Perhaps Mr. Balano would like to attend one of the rallies (Sundays 4 to 5 p.m. at J.C. Nichols Fountain and Tuesdays 5 to 6 p.m. at 63rd and Ward Parkway) to see the messages for himself.

Kris Cheatum
Kansas City

Who’s really ‘pro-life?’

Kudos to Beth Williams (5/2, Letters, “Shocking anti-abortion signs"). She is truly pro-life. She doesn’t “condone abortions.” She fosters children.

Instead of putting their energy into the “anti,” why not go for the “pro?” Spend our tax dollars on reproductive health education instead of putting Planned Parenthood on trial again. Planned Parenthood provides this education and much more.

Spend our tax dollars helping foster parents who take in the growing number of children with special needs instead of cutting funds for these programs.

These “pro-lifers” seem to care only for a baby while it’s in the womb. We have many unwanted, unloved and sometimes abused children that are already born.

It’s so unfortunate that to some, being “pro-life” is really only about being anti-abortion.

Kathryn Alexander
Olathe