Letters To The Editor

THE ENVIRONMENT

Local people should get to decide

Forests in the Intermountain Region are in the midst of what many scientists consider a serious crisis.

Fire suppression has greatly increased stand density. This has created fewer available per-tree nutrients and less moisture. This starvation has led to vulnerability of trees to insect infestations and diseases.

These dense, overcrowded, dead, and dying stands are much more susceptible to wildfire and most scientists agree that thinning, salvage operations, and responsible prescribed burning are necessary.

The fires of 1994 are typical of what is in store for the Northwest for years to come without logical management. More than 500,000 acres burned - 90 percent of it on our national forest lands.

The preservationist community has contributed substantially to the problem through its senseless appeals and disruption of the timber program.

I support SB1534. This would allow the state to determine what is best for our forests instead of people from the Eastern states who probably have never been here, who undoubtedly get their misinformation from the preservation groups. Rita Carlson Lewiston, Idaho

Chenoweth is right

Rep. Helen Chenoweth is dead right about environmentalism being a religion (Feb. 2, “Chenoweth won’t follow Babbitt’s creed”).

Everybody cares about the environment but the acolytes of environmentalism, a theosophy, depend on mystical insight into divine nature instead of science - empirical observation and experimental test - to understand it. Environmentalists I’ve met talk a lot about ecology but most don’t know ecology from proctology. I recently sat across a table from a member of Forest Watch at the Forest Congress Roundtable. She couldn’t have distinguished laminated root rot from linguine or identified any of the several other diseases and insects that kill 10 times as much timber in our public forests as logging, and contribute to catastrophic fires.

Acolytes of environmentalism oppose forest management to control such infestations. They believe in faith healing for nature, but want the best public health for their own communities and the best medical science for themselves. Some justify lying by omissions, half truths and distortions to further the cause of environmentalism when facts contradict their fantasies.

The knowledge that environmentalism is being imposed by Secretary Bruce Babbitt, former head of the League of Conservation Voters, the largest environmental group in the U.S., as a de facto state religion is not a new discovery. See “Saviors of the Earth, the politics and religion of the environmental movement,” Coffman, 1994. But Chenoweth deserves praise for having the courage to say it publicly and expose herself to the inevitable savage attacks by fanatical environmentalists. Ed Davis Spokane

Idle lands devil’s playthings?

If the government’s policy on the environment is a new religion, as Rep. Helen Chenoweth has said, her views can only be seen as the environmental equivalent of the anti-Christ.

Come on, Chenoweth, get a life. And please, try to get it in this reality. Patrick Travis Coeur d’Alene

LAW ENFORCEMENT

Corrections officers not guards

I’m concerned about numerous references in The Spokesman-Review to jail guards or jailers.

Correctional officers who work in jails and prisons do not appreciate being referred to as guards. They are professional, highly trained and state certified to perform the challenging work of corrections.

Correctional officers keep peace and control men and women who, left on their own, are out of control. Results are achieved by working as a team.

Correctional institution staff are peacekeepers, ambassadors, counselors, listeners and in charge. These officers provide a safe, humane and efficient facility and, hopefully, a way of life in which meaningful change can occur. They also assure the public is protected.

The term “guard” falls far short of encompassing all the duties of a correctional officer.

Correctional officers want their fellow citizens to know that they are a vital part of law enforcement. And they would like the public to know what life is like behind jail or prison walls. They only desire what most people take for granted: a safe, secure work place.

They deserve a salary-benefits package commensurate with the work they do and the danger and stress involved.

When the president’s get tough on crime policy is enacted, the process doesn’t stop when a judge imposes sentence. Those sentenced are out of the public view and out of mind, but a very real and often dangerous life still exists behind jail/prison walls for prisoners and officers.

Don’t call us guards; we don’t guard anyone. Brooks Allen Spokane

IN THE PAPER

Muslims don’t deserve this

I found the (Steve Benson) “Muslim madman march” cartoon in Feb. 12 Spokesman-Review to be very demeaning and offensive to the Muslim community.

This cartoon is stereotypical and portrays Muslims as being militant and aggressive.

I could not find any reason for labeling these three men as Muslims. They have many other characteristics that could have been used to describe them., specifically if the actions and thoughts of these men have nothing to do with the Islamic religion. For your knowledge, the Nigerian president is not a Muslim.

I showed this cartoon to members of the Muslim community here in Pullman and they all were upset. We feel this is part of the continuous effort by the media to distort public opinion about the Islamic religion. There are thousands of terrorists, killers, dictators, oppressive leaders, etc., who are not Muslims and they were never labeled by their religion.

I do not believe that Christians, Jews and others can accept the connection between people’s actions and their religion.

We in the Muslim community were hurt by this cartoon. You should be more sensitive to the feelings and beliefs of all members of the community your newspaper serves. Otherwise, you will lose the support of this community. Mohsen A. Hedaya Pullman

SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION

Call it refocusing and use it

I’m a family therapist and behavioral medicine educator. My child has been “processed” and I know she learned something important. Great!

Change the name to refocusing, as one school calls it; “processed” connotes hurting cattle. Also, this program isn’t therapy. Therapy is treatment of a disease.

Refocusing is an attempt to define unacceptable behavior and provide an equitable remedy with minimal disruption of learning. We do this as parents. We teach our children, positively reinforcing the good. When they misbehave, we employ time-outs and other disciplinary measures. This upsets our children, yet we persist. Why? Because kids need to learn rules, limits and responsibility for their actions. Then we ask if they understand why they were disciplined. When they respond appropriately, they can go back to the ongoing activity. Parenting or refocusing?

Why do those upset with refocusing now distrust teachers to set limits within a program that mirrors effective parenting when they used to trust them to set limits with no such positive program?

Dealing with disruptive behavior individually, as some propose, wastes learning time and teaches children that rules aren’t equally applied.

Those upset with the program have two options: comment constructively to improve refocusing; or home school your children where you can isolate them and not have to deal with those other kids who pencil tap and look out windows. Carl F. Greenberg, M.S. Spokane

VIOLENCE

Center helps sex crime victims

Spokane Sexual Assault Center of Lutheran Social Services educates the community about the dynamics of rape, child sexual abuse and molestation and provides crisis, advocacy and treatment services.

Anyone sexually violated experiences life-changing emotional upheaval. Victims tell us of their need to regain control. This process begins when a trained volunteer advocate is called to be with the victim to provide emotional support, nonjudgmental care and advocacy.

We have 30 trained advocates on call 24 hours a day to listen, help make police reports, offer legal and medical resources, and sort out intense emotions such as fear, rage and guilt.

The center’s treatment component, staffed by licensed therapists, provides services to victims and their families. Domestic violence, which often includes sexual violence, is in the news every day. We know at our center how often offenders are victims’ husbands or boyfriends. Spousal abuse is a much underreported crime.

Twenty-five years ago there were no sexual assault centers, trained advocates or worldwide acceptance of the rape trauma syndrome.

Society now better understands the cycle of violence and gender roles. We have a long way to go.

We must do more than increase awareness. We must stand united as a community with zero tolerance for any type of victimization. We must also provide the necessary support so these vital programs can help heal the victims of all violent crimes. Susan Fabrikant and Marcia Gallucci Spokane Sexual Assault Center

Abuse never justified, acceptable

The abuse a child views, hears or physically endures will cause a lifetime of suffering.

Society must understand that abuse is not normal, nor is it ever acceptable. There is no excuse for physical or emotional abuse. None. No one causes a person to become violent.

The expression of anger is learned, and it is not just a physical event. Memories of long-ago shouting and slapping heard from a child’s bed, as the parents engaged in an eruption of anger, will forever impact the child’s life decisions.

Eighty percent of batterers have witnessed or experienced abuse.

It is imperative to believe that no one causes the abuser’s wrath. You are not to blame, ever.

A victim of partner abuse with children has an obligation to find a safe place. Protect the children to stimulate a less-violent or, better yet, a nonviolent society of emotionally healthy and physically safe people - people who will exemplify a nurturing and loving environment for their families.

Love is an interest in the well-being, integrity and growth of the other person, not control. Abuse is control.

Please realize that if you love someone, concern can be displayed through compassion and understanding. It is always wrong to hit and shout to make a point. Christine Axel Spokane

OTHER TOPICS

A bit too quick on the draw

E. Madeline Hawley (Roundtable, Feb. 15) states, “a little objectivity could have been shown by mentioning the fact that Barbara Bush’s book tour expenses were paid in the same manner.” Hawley obviously did not bother to read the article before she decided to complain about it. The article clearly states both that Barbara Bush’s book was about dogs and that expenses were paid in the same manner. Mark J. Newcomb Spokane

Insult heaped upon alleged injury

I’m filled with outrage over treatment being accorded the woman teacher in Chewelah as a result of reporting that she’d been raped by two of the good old boys in the area.

Why must women who have been abused by men be put through this kind of public humiliation? Where is the justice in allowing unsubstantiated reports of past misconduct, made by friends of the accused, to be used to suspend her from her job and soil her reputation? What message does this send to other Chewelah women who may be similarly abused in the future? I hope we will soon read that Chewelah’s churches are publicly defending this woman and opposing the mentality that holds that women are objects to be used and abused.

I hope that I will see on TV a women’s march through Chewelah. They will carry signs saying, “We’re mad as hell and we’re not going to take it anymore.” If such a march is planned, I hope to participate. I’ll bring a carload of angry women and our own picket signs. Good people of the Chewelah area, all it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing. Harriett Jacobson Spokane

Letter, paper carriers earn thanks

Now that our severe weather is past, I think we should all give a big vote of thanks to those men and women who deliver the mail and newspapers every day.

Early one morning when the temperature was below zero and a heavy snowfall had covered the city during the night, I watched as my paper carrier delivered papers in my block. He trudged through deep drifts, scaled moguls in yards and narrowly avoided slipping on icy walks and steps. Always my paper was securely tied and placed inside my storm door.

My letter carrier delivered my mail under similar circumstances. He, too, had the snowbanks and icy streets to conquer, and miraculously escaped any falls which could have resulted in serious injuries.

These are just two of our dedicated servants who are deserving of appreciation, not only on snowy days but every day of the year. Nancy S. Nethercutt Spokane

Be a parent, not a buddy

I’m appalled! While waiting for a traffic signal to turn green, I noticed a mother driving her son to school (or was it her daughter; couldn’t be sure; disguised under rebel sunglasses). That is the good part.

Upon further inspection I noticed that they were both smoking.

Weeks earlier I noticed a mother-daughter duo actually sharing a cigarette while commuting to school/work.

I realize that selective memories yield “everything was better when,” but I just can’t imagine allowing children the right to smoke. Maybe the surgeon general’s warning isn’t well understood. Maybe the terminology “May cause lung cancer” is vague and ambiguous.

What I witnessed is symptomatic of a general problem pervading society. Many parents simply do not want the responsibility of disciplining their children. It’s much easier just to be buddies.

Children have enough buddies. They need parents to act as role models and they desperately need discipline.

For those unfamiliar with the term: “Dis-ci-pline 1; training to act in accordance with rules. 2; instruction and exercise designed to train to proper conduct or action. Dave James Spokane