Letters for Feb. 7, 2022

Comments speak to character

What can we infer about a man who is married to a woman whose hateful rhetoric on social media makes it utterly clear that she’s a white supremacist, bigoted, antisemitic homophobe? We can infer that, at the very least, he tolerates such values.

Such a man has no place in public life, and certainly not one as a county prosecutor wielding power over precisely those people his wife openly – proudly – denigrates. Putting it mildly, the stench of impropriety is a disgrace to the man and to the office he holds.

Lisa Bernstein

Spokane

The common good

As resistance to COVID precautions such as mask wearing at indoor events and vaccinations persists, we see a contest of sorts between individual rights and the common good. In this debate, the advice of public health professionals is often seen as an intrusion on individual choices. This debate is played out in many arenas from schools, to businesses, to government offices. Just this week we saw a Spokane City Council member formally censured for his refusal to wear a mask in City Hall.

I have been thinking about the South African concept of “ubuntu,” a term often translated as “I am because we are.”

In other words, our actions have an impact on others because we are in an essential relationship with one another as part of humanity. That relationship calls us to consider the good of all.

I doubt that anyone really enjoys wearing a mask, but I am willing to put up with some temporary discomfort to help protect others from the possible spread of disease. I trust the science and I embrace the common good.

Kristi Philip

Spokane