To the Editor:
Re “Adams Says Migrant Disaster ‘Will Destroy’ the Metropolis” (information article, Sept. 8):
New York has welcomed immigrants arriving in america seeking security, hope and alternative for hundreds of years. Mayor Eric Adams’s declare that the migrant problem will “destroy New York Metropolis” is harmful and deliberately dividing our numerous communities which can be recognized to work collectively within the face of adversity.
It’s clear that overheated rhetoric and divisive, xenophobic proposals are poisoning alternatives to constructively welcome migrants in New York.
On this pivotal second, we should attempt for inclusive and compassionate insurance policies that mirror the true spirit of New York. The mayor and others should think about the far-reaching implications of incendiary rhetoric and embrace alternatives to construct a extra united, equitable metropolis for all. The trail to such insurance policies already exists.
New York lawmakers have a singular alternative to display true historic management by responding with sensible coverage options to assist energy and stability for immigrants and all New Yorkers, countering dangerous rhetoric with humane and useful options:
Investing in emergency providers for stability.
Investing in a steady authorized providers infrastructure, together with passing the Entry to Illustration Act in New York and supporting the federal Equity to Freedom Act.
Advocating for federal motion on work authorization.
Shayna KesslerBrooklynThe author is affiliate director of advocacy on the Vera Institute of Justice.
To the Editor:
Mayor Eric Adams says the inflow of asylum seekers will “destroy New York Metropolis.” Not the obvious socioeconomic inequality. Nor the disaster in reasonably priced housing that drives New Yorkers away. Nor the storefronts saved vacant due to the exorbitant rents from landlords and builders. Nor the growth of empty luxurious residences purchased for tax write-offs. Nor the dilapidated and unreliable subways with their frequent breakdowns and delays.
No, Mayor Adams prefers to pander to the builders, the moneyed class and the NIMBY crowd. It’s a lot safer in charge New York Metropolis’s issues on the drained, the poor and the huddled plenty craving to breathe free.
C.Okay. KernsBronx
To the Editor:
As an alternative of worrying about offering ammunition to Republicans, why not simply acknowledge that the Republicans are proper, which is why so many Democrats sound like Republicans on this problem?
Andrea EconomosHartsdale, N.Y.
Defending Biden’s Silence on Trump Indictments
To the Editor:
Re “Dignified Silence Doesn’t Work Towards ‘the Final Man’” (column, Sept. 7):
Charles M. Blow criticizes President Biden for his silence on Donald Trump’s indictments. Till Mr. Trump is discovered responsible as charged, he’s presumed harmless, and Mr. Biden should keep a “dignified silence” on the costs towards him.
Mr. Biden could be simply as flawed to make use of his bully pulpit towards Mr. Trump as he could be to make use of it towards anybody else who’s being prosecuted by his administration’s Justice Division.
The particular counsel Jack Smith has accused Mr. Trump of creating day by day statements that “threaten to prejudice the jury pool” within the election-interference case towards him. Mr. Biden could be equally at fault if he says something about any of the instances pending towards Mr. Trump.
Mr. Biden’s silence isn’t just dignified; it’s accountable.
Stephen ShenderAptos, Calif.
Don’t Glorify Soccer
To the Editor:
Re “The N.F.L.’s New Kickoff Rule Is Horrible,” by Matthew Walther (Opinion visitor essay, Sept. 10):
It’s the American model of soccer itself that’s horrible.
Was Mr. Walther severe about soccer embodying a sense of “elegant contentedness”? Did he have his tongue in cheek writing that “soccer, with its stylized warfare between city-states, its ritualized celebration of morally ambivalent heroes, its trophies and its encouragement of a quasi-pagan fatalism within the face of defeat, is among the many solely vestiges of our classical inheritance”?
American soccer is a violent exercise (calling it a sport or a recreation doesn’t seize its violence) that results in lifelong accidents for a lot of younger males, very like actual struggle. It shouldn’t be glorified.
Michael E. MahlerLos Angeles
Retaining Children Away From Porn
To the Editor:
As somebody who has spent the final 12 months educating children and their dad and mom about methods to keep protected on-line, I used to be happy to see “Ban On-line Porn for Children,” by David French (column, Sept. 4).
Whereas laws proscribing kids from utilizing on-line pornography websites could be a wonderful begin, it’s the naked minimal of what’s wanted.
Younger kids are utilizing the web, YouTube, gaming apps and Google Chat not merely for enjoyable but additionally to finish assignments. Sadly, they don’t seem to be skilled to establish the crimson flags of scammers and exploiters who’re current wherever kids are on-line.
Moreover, the F.B.I. is at the moment seeing “an enormous enhance” in teenagers being sexually and financially exploited on gaming, relationship, social media and messaging apps. Most main social media apps request that customers are at the least 13 years previous. Nonetheless, anybody of any age can entry a lot of the content material from these websites with out an account.
We’d like higher digital schooling that begins when younger kids are first partaking with the web. Authorities protections are an necessary begin, however faculties want so as to add curriculum for each grade to maintain children protected in an ever-changing digital panorama.
Catherine PearlmanLaguna Niguel, Calif.The author is a scientific social employee and the writer of “First Cellphone: A Youngster’s Information to Digital Accountability, Security and Etiquette.”
Making Plastics Really Recyclable
To the Editor:
Re “Debunking the ‘Recycling Fantasy,’ Beginning With Its Image” (information article, Sept. 3):
The environmental influence of the plastics recyclability disaster can’t be overstated. Evaluation of 35 years of information from Ocean Conservancy’s Worldwide Coastal Cleanup exhibits that 70 p.c of the most typical gadgets polluting shorelines worldwide are successfully unrecyclable. Unsurprisingly, a number of scientific research conclude that we want plastics assortment and recycling to work for the well being of our ocean and local weather.
Finally, to sort out plastic air pollution and enhance recycling charges, we have to make fewer plastics, particularly these unrecyclable single-use gadgets which can be polluting our surroundings in astronomical portions, like plastic baggage and foam foodware. Eliminating such gadgets would truly assist enhance recycling charges by reducing contamination.
Think about, for instance, {that a} new Ocean Conservancy report estimates that People are unknowingly contaminating the recycling stream with greater than two billion items of froth every year.
Fact-in-labeling legal guidelines like California’s, which is able to prohibit corporations from inserting recycling symbols on merchandise that aren’t broadly recycled, are important, however solely as a part of a holistic method that begins with eliminating probably the most problematic gadgets altogether and requiring producers to make the remainder really recyclable.
Anja BrandonPortland, Ore.The author is affiliate director of U.S. Plastics Coverage at Ocean Conservancy.