Readers Write: Foraging, BWCAW permits, Rep. Melissa Hortman

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

•••

So, “Foragers will help write state rules” (June 15). One noted motivation strikes a sour note: an objection to a previously proposed one-gallon mushroom bag limit.

How much would satisfy? Two gallons? Ten? Unlimited? How much of anything is enough? Would foragers heed a restriction from areas where the science says no foraging is safe?

The book “The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World” by respected Indigenous scientist Robin Wall Kimmerer could provide ecological and philosophical guidance. Minnesotans will be well-served if the Sustainable Foraging Task Force members orient away from our prevailing culture of “scarcity, competition and the hoarding of resources” — and instead orient toward reciprocity and relationship (in Kimmerer’s words).

Task force members, please resist sanctioning the destructive ethos of hoarding in the name of improving foraging access.

“Hoarding won’t save us ... . All flourishing is mutual.”

Melinda Erickson, Roseville

•••

I applaud the proposal by the U.S. Forest Service to raise fees for trips in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness; it’s long overdue (“Big hike ahead? Boundary Waters fees could more than double,” June 18). However, the cost is still low compared to other camping options. The proposed $40 fee lets people stay as long as they want, whereas state parks and the adjacent Quetico Provincial Park charge by the day. Minnesota parks charge around $20 to $35 per day, and Quetico charges around $20 a day, in addition to the nonrefundable reservation fee.

The people who use the wilderness parks can clearly afford the increase. Those who own their equipment have thousands of dollars invested, and those who rent from outfitters can spend around $1,000 for a week for two people. I really doubt that the recent increase would be a factor in limiting anyone from enjoying the BWCAW.

David Morris, Marine on St. Croix

I write in response to the letter “Don’t seek the death penalty for this man” (Readers Write, June 18) stating prosecutors should not seek the death penalty for the man who police say assassinated Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband and attempted to assassinate Sen. John Hoffman and his wife. The defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence, due process, a fair trial and extensive appellate review. Normally, I don’t support the death penalty because of concerns that include racial prejudice in its use, the possibility of error and respect for the dignity of every human life. In this case, concerns about possible racial prejudice or error of conviction of an innocent person do not apply. In the case of assassination of elected leaders and mass murderers, the death penalty is the right response.

The country has never recovered from the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Political assassinations and mass murder are not only crimes against individuals but are really crimes against all of us. Political assassinations are an attack on democracy. Bullets should never replace ballots. If not stopped, the defendant would have gone on to commit mass murder of legislators. Mass murderers place no value on human life, damage our trust, cause fear of one another and damage our entire civilization.

The death penalty is the right response if we are to uphold “the dignity of each and every person’s humanity.” The Enlightenment philosopher Immanuel Kant argues that not imposing the death penalty denies human dignity because it does not hold a person truly morally accountable for the great harm they chose to cause. Kant argues the death penalty is appropriate for the gravity of the moral harm committed, not for utilitarian reasons such as deterrence.

In certain cases, Kant argues there is no other substitute that will satisfy justice. Justice is just as important a value as is the dignity of every human life. The death penalty restores the moral balance of society for the great wrong committed by the offender. In this case, if the defendant is convicted and sentenced to death by a jury after a fair trial, the death penalty is proportional to the harm caused. If convicted, the defendant deserves the death penalty.

Tom Harbinson, Maple Grove

•••

The story “Special election to fill Rep. Hortman’s seat,” printed June 18, is a stark reminder to readers that life goes on even amid horrific tragedy. Our grieving process is barely beginning over Melissa Hortman and her husband, and this story is already looking forward, to the future. Given the circumstances for this special election, as I pray for the Hortmans, our state and our democracy, I pray also that the Republican Party has the moral courage and fortitude not to field a candidate for this election — and that they stand by the notion that political violence accomplishes nothing and does not win in the end.

Bob Doyle, Savage

•••

I’m still reeling from the tragic, heartbreaking violence last weekend, taking the life of Hortman and her husband. Here’s what came to mind in the midst of my grief: Did you notice that the perpetrator is seemingly a family man, a husband and father, that he has no criminal record to speak of, that he has held stable jobs, that he has served on workforce development committees at a state level, that he has been associated with a faith community, that he has friends and does not appear to be a loner, that he possessed an arsenal seemingly purchased legally? He doesn’t seem to be what we expect — the disturbed loner with a criminal history, possessing illegal guns, possibly mentally ill.

I find this deeply troubling — he appears more “mainstream.” It suggests that we, as a country, are in an increasingly dangerous situation. This administration is fomenting a civil war — is it not? As the perpetrator told his family, “Dad went to war last night.”

Jean Greenwood, Minneapolis

•••

Could someone please explain to me how a fellow who claimed to be an evangelical Christian could allegedly kill people in the middle of the night while impersonating a law officer?

Jack Barbier, Minnetonka

•••

A lone dragonfly roamed over the crowd on a soothing, cloudless evening. There were no speakers to help us heal at the vigil for former Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, that night. There was no one to help the many of us at the Capitol to make sense of the killings. How could there be? Instead, there was music from musicians in the Minnesota Orchestra and Native drummers and chanters. And there were candles. And each other. Some people were crying and hugging. Others, like me, didn’t know her personally, or didn’t know her very well. We came because Hortman was such a decent person in what has become a world of slander. She was a leader who stood up for making the world a better place but who worked with the other side and compromised when needed. She was a leader, but a humble and respectful one, and was the best a politician can be.

Melissa Hortman touched so many people.

Bob Waligora, St. Louis Park