- Sara Guerrero-Duby, Oakwood
As an 88 year old Springfield resident, I chafe at most of the media coverage as if anyone worried about the influx of them is a racist, bigot or spreader of false information. In spite of my age I look down the road for the future of the City if more and more of them come. Sure they are here, we have to take care of them, but is there any end plan? How many more can be absorbed?
What will be the future effect on people who might want to move here? How many families will move their children from public to private schools due to classroom size and disruptions? How many of the city’s revitalization plans will go unfinished? Will there be need for all the planned housing developments, can Haitian employment offer income enough to afford those homes?
I wrote letters to federal officials as your paper suggested but instead of urging more federal aid, I asked that something be done to slow down the influx. There comes a time when the saturation point is reached and more responsible immigration policies need to be addressed,
But the thing that has bothered me most is seeing all the young Haitian males walking the streets with their cell phones. They are well dressed and comfortable while our own homeless population struggles to find shelter, clothes and food. Who speaks for them?
- Ann Moore, Springfield
Truth? Truth used to be synonymous with fact. It was something that could be verified and agreed upon by the masses. Somewhere along the line truth has become a disputable and manipulatable idea. Truth has been transformed from a substance that was once similar to concrete into something more akin to molding clay. How does a voting population of citizens come to any sort of agreement if there is no unifying reality?
The manipulators are laughing all the way to the bank while the manipulated commit crimes under the auspice of patriotism.
Hate has become a badge of honor.
The fact is that our current situation was inevitable.
As change washed over society like a salty wave from the ocean, rebellion was revealed.
To conserve old ways.
To control people perceived as less-than.
And principally, to maintain the status quo.
When did the idea of liberty for all become such a detestable notion?
- Steve McCann, Springfield