Readers Write: Election reactions, E-Verify, Veterans Day

Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes letters from readers online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

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To accuse the political opposition of voting based on racism and misogyny, rather than legitimate political differences on issues, can itself be a form of bigotry (Readers Write, Nov. 8). It involves stereotyping the motives of voters on the other side. Sheletta Brundidge implies such an accusation when she writes, “[Vice President Kamala Harris’] win would have meant that people in this country saw Black women not by the color of our skin but by the content of our character” (“We’re seeking strength in joy, not storming the Capitol,” Strib Voices, Nov. 8).

In her concession speech, Harris used the word “united” once and “community” once. She used the word “fight” (or “fighting”) 19 times. She said what she would be fighting for but not against whom she would be fighting. Based on the campaign rhetoric, I presume it would be the deplorable, fascist, senile garbage of our society.

Parenthetically, regarding the “D-word,” we prefer the French “les déplorables.” It sounds so much better.

Mark and Leslie Davison, Maple Grove

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Unlike some of my fellow Democrats, I don’t believe most Donald Trump voters are racist or sexist or sympathetic to fascism. I think Trump won largely because the economy was not working for vast numbers of families living from paycheck to paycheck and unable to make ends meet. Many probably held their noses in the voting booth.

For nearly half a century, through Republican and Democratic governments alike, wealth and income disparities in this country have been growing. Especially, the very wealthy have been getting richer while the middle and working classes find themselves slipping ever further behind. This is no accident. It reflects pro-globalization economic policies, lax antitrust legislation and enforcement, labor union bashing, inheritance laws and a tax code favoring upward distribution of income and wealth.

Now that we will have a president who spouts a populist line, you, his supporters, can do more than we, his detractors, to hold him to it. I urge you to keep laser-focused on what Trump actually does to promote economic fairness — which very few politicians of either party, with the notable exception of Bernie Sanders, have made their central issue. And press Democrats to join you. We may be on the verge of a great party realignment, and all of us can make clear that the quest for economic justice will be a major determinant of where we come to land.

Chip F. Peterson, St. Paul

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I disagree with the unnecessarily negative Nov. 8 column from Sheletta Brundidge that Harris’ loss in the presidential race means that Black women are not accepted in the U.S.

First, Harris got over 70 million votes. Second, there are Black women in top positions in their industries throughout the country. Third, there are millions of Black women who are in responsible positions as engineers, dentists, doctors, nurses, lawyers, accountants, executives, managers, teachers, school board members, mothers, military officers, etc. There were valid non-racist, non-women-hating reasons people of all races and sexes did not vote for Harris. She cast the deciding vote for a federal law with excessive spending that has contributed to inflation. She was nominated without a competitive primary. By saying she would not have done anything differently than President Joe Biden, she effectively said that she favored the policies that allowed millions of immigrants to enter illegally, the policy that allows biological men to play on the sports teams of biological women (in direct contradiction to federal Title IX, which establishes equality of women’s and men’s sports based on sex and not gender, and for which biological women fought for years), the policies that resulted in the disastrous exit from Afghanistan that allows the Taliban to subjugate millions of women, and the statement by Biden that he expected Russia to invade Ukraine, the unnecessary statements that signaled the U.S. would not respond militarily, and the confusing statements about “minor incursions” by Russia.

Kevin Favero, Bloomington

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In the wake of the election, some have suggested the Democratic message was not clear. It seems to me Dems have been crystal clear but here, again, is our agenda:

With regard to the two signature issues of the winning agenda:

These are our values. This is the agenda that voting Americans rejected in the last election.

Reasons why it was rejected or what carrying it out means in real-time daily living can be debated and will vary according to individual priorities, but the agenda itself is clear. It simply was rejected.

Carol McNamara, Minneapolis

In response to the letter to the editor “Cheaper, faster, better: E-Verify” (Readers Write, Nov. 11).

My daughter arrived from Korea in 1997. The Immigration and Nationality Act says that adopted children will become citizens when admitted to the United States as lawful permanent residents. In other words, my daughter became a citizen when her plane landed in the U.S. When she was 17, she tried to get a part-time job and was rejected because E-Verify questioned her citizenship. We were baffled that it did not seem to be aware of all the ways immigrants become citizens.

In a later conversation with a friend who owns a local company, we learned that he avoids using E-Verify because it is so often wrong and would make potential employees jump through completely unnecessary hoops to be verified. In our case, it took a fax of her adoption papers, an explanation of the law in writing, and three follow-up phone calls to finally get her cleared. In every one of the phone calls we were treated as scofflaws and told that if she did not immediately pursue naturalization she could be at risk. We did not find out she was verified until she was suddenly hired by the employer who had first rejected her for noncitizenship.

E-Verify never backed off its threatening language in communications with us or took any responsibility for the mistake. To make sure this never happened again, my daughter applied for and received a U.S. passport. The passport office seemed well aware of citizenship law.

E-Verify needs to be accurate and show some integrity if it is to be the solution to anything.

Linda Semmler, St. Paul

I have a plea this Veterans Day week: Remember, remember, remember. There are brave women and men. Some came home, some did not. I recently had the honor of reaching back through time by following the fields and towns that my father marched through alongside fellow Americans to help liberate Europe from the grip of fascism. The weight of suffering for all those who experienced that war became real. My father fought and saw the ravages of Dachau and rarely spoke of the fears and horrors set upon him and those around him. My mother was also a veteran of World War II whose B-17 bombardier brother lost his life over the English Channel. I think of the bravery of men crossing the channel on that cold and blustery invasion day, in boats described as bathtubs, with thousands of others, knowing the odds of survival were questionable. I think of the men and women who bravely put their lives in harm’s way throughout the decades in defense of our democracy — all of them.

History is a great teacher: War is ugly, be kind, remember their sacrifice and honor those veterans. “Thank you” is not enough — honor them and remember.

Susan Gove, Plymouth