Letters to the Editor

The true meaning of cancel culture?: Regarding Star Parker’s Aug. 18 column with the headline, “Cancel culture, wokeness will destroy our country.” People like her struggle to understand what cancel culture is. (Former President Donald) Trump used The Big Lie on Americans. The Big Lie is a common tactic in totalitarian regimes to manipulate the minds of the people. Trump used that to try and cancel out the votes of 81 million voters who voted for Joe Biden. In fact, overthrowing an election in a Democratic Republic to install a dictator is the gold standard of cancel culture in banana republics. Everything else she said in her article pales by comparison. Gunars Fricsons, Dayton.

Bipartisan anti-death penalty bill: I was pleased to see the article with the headline, “Why area Republicans sponsored bills to abolish Ohio’s death penalty” in the July 19 edition. As someone who has followed the movement to abolish Ohio’s death penalty for a long time, this moment feels very different from past attempts at repeal, and that is largely due to the strong bipartisan support for both bills. I applaud our Republican legislators who realize repealing the death penalty is a smart move for our state in so many ways. I also wanted to respond to Mr. Tobin’s assertions that Ohioans still want the death penalty. A recent poll found that a majority of Ohioans actually favor repealing the death penalty. That majority included 69% of Democrats and 53% of Republicans polled. In addition, the race of the victim is often where racial inequity is seen when applying the death penalty. Studies have proven over and over again that Black defendants with White victims are more likely to receive death sentences. The facts are clear, and I look forward to the passage of legislation that will end this broken policy forever. Robert L. Stoughton, Xenia.