Readers write: July 25
Paulding airport good competition
In his guest column, “Mayor’s actions are anti-regionalism” (Opinion, July 22), Paulding County Commission Chairman David Austin makes a great case for building a smaller commercial airport in Paulding County. It would be great for the region, unless of course your definition of a region is the city of Atlanta. In his rebuttal, “Second airport would damage area” (Opinion, July 22), Atlanta COO Michael Geisler states the city’s position is that the Paulding airport would “create a competitor for ourselves.”
Competition is exactly what the Atlanta airport needs. For too long, we have put up with corruption and bid-rigging for airport concessions and construction. Geisler never mentions the extraordinary inconvenience for passengers who have to travel long distances fighting Atlanta traffic, or are gouged by Atlanta’s third-world taxi service just to go a couple of miles from the airport, where they are faced with the world’s longest security lines. Atlanta’s airport may be the busiest, but it is also the most crowded, inconvenient and over-priced airport in the world.
Keep fighting Goliath, David Austin. Our communities need more courageous leaders like you.
GREG WOJCIK, ATLANTA
We need to reflect on our own history
Monday’s disturbing letter making a “connection between Hispanics and violence” (“Immigration issue ignores history,” Readers write, July 21) alarmed me. These allegations cherry-pick history and stoke fires of hatred and bigotry. Implicating “bull fighting … or the Spanish Inquisition” for today’s criminal enterprise neglects real issues. The growth of domestic and Latin-based gangs correlates to the United States’ inability to curb our appetite for illegal drugs, our refusal to de-criminalize these drugs, and the massive youth unemployment crisis, which we ignore.
And if historical violence is the proximate cause of current violence, then consider our contribution: Under President Polk’s “Manifest Destiny,” we invaded Mexico and “conquered” what is now California, New Mexico, Arizona, etc. Does our country’s history predispose us to violence? Vilifying “Hispanics” or any Americans is not the answer. I implore all readers, writers and leaders to fully consider context and seek solutions rather than scapegoats. Until we rethink our priorities, the violence will continue.
NICK BOXER, ATLANTA
Some perspective on child immigrants
The status of present-day child refugees in America is really no different than Operation Peter Pan of the early 1960s. The Catholic Church, with the help of the U.S. government, brought Cuban children unescorted to U.S. shores. Since they were fleeing Communism, no one said “boo.” Today, immigrant children are fleeing certain death, and people are reacting as if the world is coming to an end. My question is, what changed?
STANLEY H. BARNETT, DULUTH
