Letters: A ‘slam’ on Wendell Berry. Pros, cons of school reopening. More questions on bar exam.

Schools debate

It seems to me that “public health” has come to mean exclusively “COVID-19 prevention.” To see evidence of this, one need only look at the current discussion about reopening schools. The only relevant question seems to be whether opening schools for in-person instruction will cause an increase in COVID-19 cases. While a complete layman on the intricacies of public health policy, I was under the impression that “public health” entailed balancing a variety of sometimes competing considerations in creating policy to try to bring about the best possible health outcomes in a population. Indeed, according to its website, since 1948, the World Health Organization has defined health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” So why is there virtually no discussion about other health-related factors involved in children’s attendance at school? As I understand it, school is the primary location for identifying cases of hearing problems, vision problems, and abuse in children. Socialization is surely important for children’s mental health, and I assume that intellectual attainment is correlated with future economic success, which will affect future health outcomes. If we care about children’s health, where is the discussion of these kinds of factors in this debate?

Stephanie Mason, Danville

Get ambulances ready

When and if Kentucky and other states open schools, I wonder if we are we going to have an ambulance parked outside each school to transport a sick child or teacher to the hospital or if are we going to have the ambulances (and this will occur at least weekly if not daily) arrive with sirens blaring, traumatizing the young children in the building.

Robert Hoeller, Lexington

Value library workers

A recent opinion piece by Lexington Public Library (LPL) board chairman Lawrence T. Smith reasoned that letting go over 100 part-time LPL employees was necessary given the difficulties that every public library system faces given the COVID-19 pandemic. I sympathize with Mr. Smith, the board and the management staff at LPL. Our public library systems are vital community assets that are underfunded, overworked, and underappreciated. When the libraries were closed, I applauded LPL’s decision to keep staff on the payroll. That said, I would ask the citizens of Lexington to question Mr. Smith, the board and the management staff at LPL about this decision, which creates painful hardship for over 100 people. Mr. Smith speaks of using this “savings” to offset unforeseen costs. I would ask Mr. Smith how much the LPL budget is negatively affected by the pandemic. I think the answer is $0. There are also federally allocated pandemic dollars available to offset these costs. Most of those 101 employees are highly educated, dedicated professionals. Many struggle working more than one job. I would ask LPL to use this difficult time to reorganize, and provide a better employment path for these people, or risk losing them to other communities.

David L. Dukes, Versailles

Excuses inappropriate

I was disappointed by Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Laurance B. VanMeter’s op-ed explaining the Supreme Court’s decision to postpone the bar exam. Public officials should admit their mistakes and apologize for them, not make excuses. The Supreme Court had months to reschedule the bar exam, but irresponsibly waited until the last minute. I question the competence of the people administering the bar exam, not the people taking it, wherever they attended law school.

Brian L. Frye, professor, University of Kentucky College of Law, Lexington

Deeper problem

Upon reading Bill Turner’s recent remarks on Wendell Berry and Berry’s defense of the Memorial Hall fresco, I came to understand that the real problem we are facing is the deeply seated anger and bitterness which saturate our world. Such intensity of feeling cannot be healed by taking down monuments or destroying murals. It can only be healed by a mindful regard for the gospel message: Love one another. I will now pray that Turner’s crippling pain be cured and that he can walk in light and leave the darkness behind. Bless you sir.

Estill C. Pennington, Paris

‘Slam’ on Berry

I have read Bill Turner’s op-ed, and understand that he has been incensed by Ann O’Hanlon’s fresco at the University of Kentucky for 54 years. Unfortunately, his op-ed piece does not lay out in detail the images in the fresco to which he objects so strongly, only calling them “grotesque” and “disgusting.” I’m confused: Do those four Black figures bending over tobacco plants and Black musicians playing for white dancers express the disgusting and grotesque history of slavery in Kentucky? Rather, it seems he is using the forum of the op-ed to criticize Wendell Berry.

Dr. Turner doubts that students protesting the mural “will always be as respectful, as deferential, and as polite” as he is to Mr. Berry. Nonsense. He’s not respectful, deferential, or polite in this op-ed slam. He writes to Mr. Berry: “the current generation of black students at our alma mater who led the protests to remove the mural are neither your grandparents’ docile servants nor your flatterers,” demeaning Mr. Berry’s antecedents and admirers. He accuses Ann O’Hanlon of painting “the pillage and plunder of their fore parents” in a public space. Where in the mural are the “pillage and plunder” shown?

For these reasons I cannot give Dr. Turner’s op-ed the respect it might have deserved.

Abby Wasserman, Archives and Collections chair, O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, Mill Valley, California

Feedback fear

In his recent op-ed, Travis Kitchens conflates criticism of Wendell Berry with tarring and feathering him as “some kind of crypto-fascist”. He ignores Bill Turner’s actual argument and spins a story of mob mentality which doesn’t represent our world in the slightest.

Kitchen’s opinion piece joins the Harper’s Magazine letter on “Justice and Open Debate” in revealing the fear in privileged academic and literary circles of receiving (and thus, having to confront) any potentially negative feedback. Without the proliferation of social media, white, heterosexual, and/or male writers used to write all sorts of racist, homophobic, and sexist language, and, at worst, they would receive a complimentary critique in a peer’s essay. Now they’re terrified of Twitter mobs, which exist, but aren’t “witchburners”.

Kitchens’ world where online personas are as dangerous as actual lynch mobs is science fiction. He doesn’t mention how Turner claims to have protested that mural 54 years ago. “Cancel culture” isn’t new, just previously called “criticism”.

Kitchens also suggests Turner doesn’t list the reasons to remove the mural, just that critics are unquestionably righteous. What he doesn’t mention from Turner’s article is that these critics are Black students. To Kitchen, the identity and perspective of nonwhite people is not reason enough to raise objection.

Bronson O’Quinn, Lexington

Share band love

It’s terribly difficult to be a marching band in Lexington when the only school that is consistently being recognized is the Lafayette High School Marching Band. Yes, the school has a very large and award-winning band. It deserves recognition. But there are other marching bands that are equally as affected by the cancellation of the Kentucky Music Educators Association marching band championships this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

I’ve been involved with Tates Creek High School Marching Band for the past four years and I can tell you they are equally disappointed. Tates Creek has a long reputation for being an award-winning band as well. But there is no mention of them or the other local schools on the news and how they feel without a season this year. TCHS had a winning season last fall but is never followed or mentioned in the news. Creek marchers enjoy their success whether it is reported or not. The kids do for the love of music and the pride they feel representing TCHS. Although it would be nice to receive a “shout out” every once and a while. Even if we haven’t named ourselves “the Pride of the Bluegrass”.

Lori Henderson, Lexington

Adjusting the scale

I wonder if Tates Creek High School will next, in an attempt to make its students taller and narrow the height gap, decree a change in the scale of inches and feet.

Steve Pruitt, Lexington

Whose senator?

Nothing should be more terrifying to freedom-loving people than the creation of a secret federal police force. This has been the tactic of every dictator the world has ever known. Yet our president has organized such a force and is now threatening to deploy it throughout the United States.

How can we stop this outrageousness? My first thought was to express my opinion to my senior senator who is also the most powerful legislator in Washington. Was I able to do something so simple as contacting my elected representative? Not on your life.

Sen. Mitch McConnell hides behind an announcement saying “This is a busy time and callers should leave a message.” Before I had a chance to leave a message I was informed “the machine was full” and the call ended with an unceremonious “click”. I was left voiceless by an answering machine.

Senator McConnell has been bragging in his campaign ads that he has done so much for Kentucky. How would he know? He doesn’t have a secretary to answer the phone when a constituent calls nor an answering machine to record my call expressing my outrage. Who does the senator represent? I am beginning to think it is not me or anyone like me.

Mack Chapman, Lexington

Team mascots

So the Washington pro football team finally decided to change their controversial team name, but now they need a new name that is less offensive. How about resurrecting the name of the old Washington baseball team, the Senators? Think about it -- the Washington Senators could have the “filibuster defense” that uses deception to never let the opposition score any points. Then they could have the “trickle-down offense” that stimulates scoring by giving huge pay raises to the quarterbacks. This theoretically would increase ticket sales which would trickle down to higher pay for the water boys.

The Senators would even have ready-made hometown mascots in the “Great Filibusters”, Senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul.

Kevin Kline, Lexington