All in To The Editor

George Floyd, hourly workers, and Swarthmore

George Floyd, hourly workers, and Swarthmore

Parisa Zangeneh
To The Editor

George Floyd’s death has brought racial intolerance and violence to the forefront of American attention, again. His death has ignited a national conversation on structural violence and racism. It should also ignite controversy over another issue that contributed to his vulnerability: his employment status. Floyd was a bouncer who was unable to work during the pandemic. He allegedly tried to pay at a grocery store using counterfeit money, and for that, if he did it, he lost his life. Thinking about the casual workers who come into Swarthmore every single day, I can’t help but wonder: What is keeping them afloat during the pandemic?

White fragility at home

White fragility at home

Margaret Betz
To The Editor

A letter in the June 12 issue of the Swarthmorean, obliquely referencing the recent racist incident at Strath Haven High School and its aftermath, managed to discuss the topic at length without ever acknowledging the victims — the minorities in our community who continue to be deeply wounded by these events. What does the larger white community owe to them? Sociologist Robin Diangelo’s “White Fragility” is among the books on race being recommended following the killing of George Floyd.

Pomp and unforeseen circumstances

Pomp and unforeseen circumstances

Natalie and Andy Bennett
To The Editor

Our son graduated from Strath Haven High School last Friday, and this community helped make it a day to be remembered. Yes, there is a pandemic. Yes, it rained, so the graduation had to be indoors. But our neighbors in Wallingford, Swarthmore, Rutledge, and South Media showed us what community and kindness and hope and love are all about.

Bring the music back

Bring the music back

Ingrid Rosenback and Jack Scott
To The Editor

As musicians who lost all our scheduled jobs as a result of COVID-19, we’ve been watching with interest and caution as businesses and services begin to take small, careful steps to reopen operations safely. Among our cancelled musical performances were some scheduled appearances at farmers’ markets throughout the area. As these markets begin to reopen with appropriate restrictions, we encourage them to consider resuming live music.

Double-check the police

Robin Schaufler
To The Editor

In response to the tragic murder of George Floyd, I believe every municipality in the U.S. ought to be reviewing its police policies, whether it has a history of police misconduct or not. Thankfully, Swarthmore is a peaceful town, with no history, that I know of, of excessive force or biased detention and indictment. But we should not simply rest on our laurels.

‘PAUSE’

Bryan Lentz
To The Editor

We have recently seen in this community that when an “underdeveloped” personality is combined with an iPhone, the social punishment can be permanent. The destruction that follows requires willing accomplices, other people who will spread the offending message and attack and shame its young creator. Those accomplices, unfortunately, are plentiful and include many of us adults.

White Americans must fix it

White Americans must fix it

Grant Grissom
To The Editor

“Don’t come into my community. Your work is in the white community.” Those were the words spoken at Pendle Hill by a black activist to a gathering of white activists for racial justice. I write in the hope that white Americans will do the work that it is ours to do.

Kindness at noon

Kindness at noon

Judith Trustone
To The Editor

Kindness at Noon (KAN) grew out of a homework assignment in one of the creative writing classes I teach in prisons. People behind bars have adopted this exercise as an anti-violence technique and use it as an alternative to conflict.

Parks are priceless: Don’t cut conservation funding

Parks are priceless: Don’t cut conservation funding

Maria DiGiovanni
To The Editor

The Pennsylvania State House recently passed HB1822, which aims to cut conservation funding until Pennsylvania’s COVID-19 disaster declaration expires. This bill will slash funds for programs like the Growing Greener Program and the Keystone Fund that preserve and maintain our priceless open spaces. Without these funds, these state programs will struggle to maintain the parks, playgrounds, and farmlands near and dear to us.

Gift baskets for Chester grads

Gift baskets for Chester grads

Matt Krause & Margie McAboy
To The Editor

The Delaware County District Attorney’s Office is helping Chester High School and STEM Academy build community support for their Senior Gift Basket Project. The baskets are a token of appreciation for everything they had to accomplish in order to graduate from high school and overcome immediate circumstances.

Bear (2005-2020)

Bear (2005-2020)

Bear
To The Editor

As man’s best friend, I have lived all over town: on Yale Avenue, Lafayette Avenue, and for the last three years on Haverford Avenue. You might think moving among three residences in the same zip code would be a challenge for a family pet, but it didn’t feel that way to me. The town was my constant.

What the Co-op needs to survive

What the Co-op needs to survive

Pam Bartholomew
To The Editor

I ask the three groups who are opposing the Co-op’s sale of beer and wine to withdraw your opposition. Patrick Flanigan, the Pastuszek family, and Rodney and Deborah Swaney: You are holding the Co-op hostage, forcing it to divert resources that the business cannot afford to waste fighting you in court.

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