Letters for Wednesday, Sept. 24

Homeless population

As someone who watched his children grow up in Spokane and now his grandchildren, I’m saddened, ashamed and disgusted with my city and its handling of the homeless. From the amount of litter that lines too many of the streets to the panhandling on off ramps and corners, to the congregation of campers and loiterers seemingly under every bridge, our downtown has become unrecognizable.

How many don’t venture downtown to shop, dine or enjoy the park? How many potential new businesses have passed after seeing the current state of things. Either our city leadership is ignorant, powerless or complicit in managing this growing problem.

Possible solutions:

1) Invite in federal resources to partner with our police department to tackle drugs and crime. Our emergency services are overwhelmed with calls centered on our homeless population and the issues that arise downstream because we’ve allowed that problem to take root.

2) Take legal action against the city for denying taxpayer access to city facilities. Our downtown library has essentially become a homeless shelter. What other areas and facilities have the city forfeited its stewardship at the taxpayers’ expense?

3) Follow the money. Including donations to local politicians, many NGOs, developers, addiction centers, etc., are doing quite well off of this tragedy.

Currently, there seems to be two competing visions for downtown. One that centers around Riverfront Park and one that caters to and is attracting the homeless. Anyone who walks around can clearly see which vision is winning.

Dean T. Moorehouse

Spokane

Spreading outrage in his name

Charlie Kirk’s recent murder is a heinous, unacceptable atrocity that cannot be ignored. Unfortunately, it is also just the latest spasm of political violence that this country is beginning to expect and dread. While some mourned the loss of the young father and others tried to work toward constructive solutions, local conservatives Will Hulings, Jackson Dines and Kyle Osborn tried a different approach.

As someone who leans right politically and generally espouses Christian values, I was appalled by the time-wasting display of performative outrage, name calling and juvenile trolling inflicted on the City Council on Sept. 15. All of it justified and done in the name of Christianity and their Bible, of course. Must be a different Bible than most Christians read. Since when did willful ignorance, intolerance and hypocrisy become core Christian values?

Christ promoted tolerance and loving your fellow man. There is no love here. Just hatred of the homosexual council member, hatred of the “Democratic Socialist Party,” hatred of the former Planned Parenthood employee, hatred of the “satanic Democratic Party” and hatred of women who “just spread their legs.”

You may be fooling yourself but your white-hot hate poorly disguised as religious righteousness fools no one else.

Perhaps while you have your Bibles open you should revisit the Eighth Commandment.

Brian Lehman

Spokane Valley