Wednesday, October 7, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
LETTERS
Continued from page 2
under which deadly physical force is permitted at
https://www.oregonlaws.org/ors/161.239.
So, why would our state representative vote
against this bill unless he is completely out of
touch with what has been happening in our country
since the death of George Floyd? As evidence con-
tinues to mount that Black and brown people have
been the targets of police brutality at significantly
higher rates than can be explained by reasonable
statistics 4 the fatality rate for Black Americans at
the hands of police stands at 31 people per million
of the population, while for white Americans is 13
per million (Statista Research Department. <Police
Shootings: Rate by Ethnicity US 2015-2020) 4 it
is long past time for all of us, including our elected
officials, to face that reality and take steps to pre-
vent more tragic deaths.
According to The Washington Post (July 16,
2020), even police departments themselves are
banning chokeholds: 26 of the nation9s 65 largest
police departments have already done so and more
are expected to follow.
Representative Bonham continues to vote with
the most conservative members of his party, even
walking off the job rather than voting for legis-
lation that a majority of his constituents want.
Fortunately, in November, we can vote against
Daniel Bonham.
Arlene Burns has demonstrated her leadership
and ability to make wise decisions for the good
of her community as Mosier9s mayor. I had the
opportunity to meet Arlene during her recent visit
to Sisters, she is conscientious, caring, and a great
listener. She9ll be joining Indivisible Sisters for a
meet the candidate event via Zoom on October 8
at 7 p.m. You can join using this link: https://buff.
ly/2Go3XO9
I know I9ll be voting for Arlene this November
for Representative of House District 59. She
won9t let partisanship override common sense.
ArleneBurns.com
Josh Berger
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To the Editor:
After hearing reports that President Trump
referred to the American Marines who died on the
battlefields of France in World War I as <suck-
ers= and <losers,= it caused me to reflect on my
own feelings about the president and the men and
women who have sacrificed their lives for our
country.
Last year my wife and I had the opportunity to
visit the Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall when
it was on display in Tucson where we were living
at the time. The memorial was on display on the
grounds of a local casino. It is 3/5 of the size of the
one in Washington D.C., made of granite, 375 feet
long and 7.59 tall. It contains the names of 58,320
American Soldiers who died in the war.
As my wife and I walked along the wall on a
sunny day my wife eventually headed for a shady
spot to sit as I continued my walk along the wall. A
few minutes went by and I observed an elderly cou-
ple ahead of me. They were trailed by a younger
woman and a guide carrying a ladder which she set
down next to the wall. I approached the younger
woman and engaged her in a brief conversation. She
told me that they were looking for the name of her
older brother and she had brought her mother and
father to find their son9s name among the 58,320
who had died in the war. I stood back to watch as
they searched for his name. Once they found it the
elderly woman fumbled through her purse to locate
a piece of paper and a pencil. Assisted by her hus-
band she shakily climbed the ladder and began to
make a rubbing of their son9s name. I returned to
where my wife was resting and watched as they
stood with their arms locked around one another
staring silently at the wall.
The words of Pete Seeger9s song rattled through
my brain as I wondered what they were thinking,
<Where have all the flowers gone& and when
will we ever learn,= as I looked at the thousands of
names on the wall that seemed to stretch forever.
When I returned home, I looked up on the inter-
net and located the name of their son and brother.
There was a picture of him at his high school grad-
uation. I9ve forgotten his name, but I will always
remember the picture. He was a handsome boy
with his hair neatly parted. His eyes portrayed both
9
innocence and hope. His lips suggested a smile
which hinted a mischievous playfulness. I could
imagine him teasing a younger sister as I had when
I was his age. He had grown up in a small town
in Illinois and played on the football team. He had
evidently been drafted right out of high school and
was only 19 when he died.
Now, as I look back on that day I wonder what
his family would think about the president9s words.
I could cite other examples of the president9s
callous words about our fallen soldiers. When La
David Johnson died in Niger, Africa the president
called his widow and, instead of consoling her, said
that <her guy= (I guess he couldn9t remember his
name) <knew what he was getting into.= Then, in
2017, when he accompanied his Chief of Staff,
John Kelly, to visit the grave of Kelly9s son who
had been killed in Afghanistan, he rudely said, <I
don9t get it, what was in it for them.= In his runup
to the election Trump attacked John McCain, <He
was not a war hero. He was a war hero because he
was captured. I like people who weren9t captured.=
Then, within a few hours of the terrorist attack on
the World Trade Center all he could think of to
say was to brag that one of his buildings was now
the tallest one in downtown Manhattan. Later, he
claimed that he was at ground zero on the day of
the attack in an effort to exploit the event for his
own benefit. The only question that remains in my
mind is: When will we ever learn?
Daniel Ramberg
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To the Editor:
The first Presidential Debate was two days ago
(at time of letter submission) and I am still trying
to wash off the aftermath as an assault victim tries
to wash off the filth of defilement.
I am defiled by Trump9s assault, the contemp-
tuous non-stop interruption and disrespect 4 a
pounding slap in the face on verbal, emotional,
and psychic levels. Although it was endured first-
person by Vice President Biden, it extends to all
Americans.
See LETTERS on page 14