Letters for Jan. 27, 2022

If athletes ran the world

John Stockton, Aaron Rodgers and Novak Djokovic are lucky guys; they happen to live in an era that worships their ability to play a game really well. They don’t contribute much to the well being of their fellow humans other than a few moments of entertainment, yet they are richly rewarded.

Stockton seems to have a reasonable, somewhat reserved sense of his status as a local hero, yet he does not hesitate to use his platform to express views that, if they were public policy, would leave hundreds, if not thousands of his fellow Spokanites exposed to a very real, very dangerous disease. Elite professional athletes are welcome to their riches, but their status as voices guiding public discourse: not so much.

Hats off to Gonzaga for suspending Stockton’s attendance, but the idea that they have been “in discussion” with the guy for two years, and that it may have taken several complaints before they took action speaks to the outsized influence of a guy who has no business at the table.

Michael Nelson

Spokane

Local history

While I appreciated your coverage of the updated history provided by David Beine regarding the theft of Chief Garry’s land, I was appalled by the suggestion that this injustice be commemorated today simply by putting a plaque at the site of the proposed 230 unit housing project on Beacon Hill, the stolen land. Better to recommend we learn from “An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States” by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz or understand some of the ways Washington State was stolen from the original land and water protectors as cited in “The Bitter Waters of Medicine Creek” by Richard Kruger.

The descendants of Chief Garry don’t need another plaque referring to slaughtered people, dogs, horses and destroyed salmon runs. At the very least, they need the people who now live on the ancestral lands of the Spokane bands to be willing to learn of the history and culture of the original people.

Better than a plaque, consider an endowment to the Salish School. Support educational opportunities and scholarships for Native youth.

Support the local work of Native historian Warren Seyler. Ask leaders and members of the Spokane -area tribes how they would want us to learn from and to remember Chief Spokane Garry, today and in the future.

Janice Doherty

Spokane

Online education

Parents blame online teaching for a reduction in students’ learning. But it’s the attitude of parents, and subsequently their children, that’s creating the problem. Students sit in a desk most of the day, so why not a computer?

A paradigm shift must occur among parents in order to ensure that their children willingly receive an education any way necessary. We know that learning occurs in any environment; in school or on a computer, a person’s attitude determines how well they learn. For some special education students, in-person learning may be the best. But for others, those who don’t require special services, the quality of education has little to do with how content is delivered. It’s attitude.

In remote villages of Alaska, students receive their education through remote learning, and this has been going on for more than 40 years. Those students do just fine. Both students and parents realize that receiving an education means doing whatever becomes necessary to participate in the learning process.

In-person teaching may not be possible for many schools. and online teaching can do as good a job. I’m a teacher, and I prefer in person classes too, because I like the one-on-one with students. But my students learn equally well online.

Parents: Embrace the opportunity to be with your kids. Enjoy them while you can. Encourage them to learn, and instead of complaining about online learning, show your kids that any education is better than none.

Lynn Bain

Spokane

CMR: retirement ready

Our democracy is under assault! As renowned analyst Fareed Zakaria’s CNN documentary recently affirmed, the Trumpian lies, racism and debunked conspiracy theories promoting dictatorship have largely taken over the rank and file of the Republican Party. Lonely Republican U.S. Representative Adam Kinzinger, lamenting the fact, is not running for re-election because of it.

Last May I wrote that “Very seldom I agree with Liz Cheney on policy ….”

“But right now Liz Cheney is my No. 1 hero … Because she may become most instrumental in saving our democracy.”

Eight months later she is still my No. 1 hero. Unfortunately, the increasing cowardice of most Republican legislators has further facilitated the trend toward Trumpian dictatorship, with people of color likely the primary scapegoats.

Today a courageous Republican congresswoman intent on saving our democracy, like Liz Cheney, is much more important than agreement on policy. In stark contrast, our own Republican Congresswoman, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, shows absolutely no such courage in stemming the Republican movement toward dictatorship. She may not be easy to defeat at the polls, but there’s still more chance of that than her ever standing up to Donald Trump.

So let’s work hard to send CMR into retirement!

Norm Luther

Spokane