Death with dignity, like life, is a gift
When one is wedded to a position, as is Kathleen Gallagher (“Message to assisted-suicide advocates: Life is a gift,” Opinion, Dec. 4), it is difficult to accept the legitimacy of an alternative position. Ms. Gallagher, with no evidence to support her supposition, questions the sincerity of Brittany Maynard’s commitment to a death with dignity. I have walked the path with a spouse for whom palliative care robbed her of the essence of who she was and who she had been. Life is indeed a gift, but just being alive is not life. It is one thing to be for or against something in the abstract. When the abstract becomes reality, however, people like Brittany Maynard, her family, and others in a similar circumstance may come to believe that death with dignity is also a gift.
JAMES. C. COOMER, NORCROSS
Taser could have averted shooting
Did Officer Darren Wilson carry a Taser? If so, why didn’t he use it against Michael Brown instead of his gun? Wilson could have tased Brown in the initial confrontation, thus knocking him to the ground and allowing him to get out of his police car and also call for additional help to subdue the kid. It probably also would have kept the kid from running away, and the end result might have been a non-lethal arrest. Our local police use Tasers to subdue belligerent individuals. Maybe this is something all law enforcement agents need to seriously think about.
CHARLES TATTER, MARIETTA
Some Tech fans show little respect
Georgia Tech fans showed little respect after their victory against Georgia Saturday in Athens. Several of their players and fans ripped up the famed hedges on the Sanford Stadium field. This crosses the line of fan behavior, to destroy such a big part of UGA’s tradition and pride.
BRIAN DINAPOLI, DECATUR
Electric cars don’t eliminate pollution
The Nissan Leaf and other electric vehicles “zero emission”? (“In a city full of vehicles, electric cars multiply,” News, Dec. 4) If only it were true. What do Leaf owners and AJC writers think generates the electricity to charge those batteries? Coal-fired power plants — not zero emission.
RANDY MAYFIELD, SHARPSBURG
Some stadiums look better with age
I read the cost of the Falcons’ new stadium will be $1.4 billion. Does anyone think this will be the final price? Recently I was in Verona, Italy. I went to a concert in an amphitheater that was about 2,000 years old. I do not know how much they paid for it, but my guess is much less than $1.4 billion. The amphitheater still works just fine.
BRUCE BROWER, ATLANTA
