Showing COVID’s terrible toll may help slow spread
In the early 1970s, the news media began airing gritty and appalling footage of what was really going on in Vietnam. The result? People could no longer deny the horror; society mobilized, and the administration was forced to stop the madness. Maybe we’d achieve something similar if today’s media continually ran in-your-face images of those sick and dying of coronavirus, struggling to take a breath. Open caskets. Grief-stricken family members. Plaster our cities with graphic billboards and posters, then maybe the risks would become “real” for those who flaunt precautions. Even alarming statistics and charts reflect only faceless aggregates. It’s not that we’re all in this together. It’s that we’re on our own, having elected a leader who has no experience, and even less interest, in solving other people’s problems – and is only comfortable when he’s the one creating the chaos.
TOM TORTORICI, ATLANTA
Stay vigilant in detecting child abuse during pandemic
Regarding “Child abuse reporting in Georgia down by half since schools closed amid virus” (AJC.com), I agree that this is not a positive outcome. The decline in reports typically suggests a decrease in child abuse, but this is not the case. Children are not in contact with mandated reporters, and that caused the decrease. During my internship with the Clarke County Division of Family and Children Services, the majority of cases I worked on were reported by school officials. Children are now staying at home, unable to go to school. Abuse is going unnoticed. Not to mention rising stress levels during this time puts children at greater risk for abuse. To counter this, state agencies need to work together. Not only do police need to be vigilant, but I suggest animal control be recruited to be hypervigilant in detecting abuse of children in addition to animals, as the two are often linked.
HANNAH GRIZZLE, ATHENS
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