Letters to the Editor | Nov. 20, 2024

Tired legs, injuries, poor effort in games, aging players, scoring droughts, lack of continuity, and shockingly lackluster execution. This is how Inquirer sports reporter Keith Pompey describes the Sixers. This is the team that wants to build a $1.3 billion arena in downtown Philly? The arena will have retail space. What makes anyone believe that the new retail space will be any more successful than the current Fashion District that, on most days, looks like a ghost town? The arena will have residential space. How many Philadelphians will opt to live in a building that entertains 20,000 people in their lobby a third of the year, to say nothing of the nightmare of getting their car in and out during game days? Perhaps the Sixers might be better served addressing Pompey’s concerns before they ask Philadelphians to share in their nightmare.

Barry Lurie, Philadelphia

Someone climb up City Hall and hang a black shroud over William Penn. Our state’s compassionate and tolerant founder, the man who created the country’s most enlightened colony, should not see this day. Penn went to prison more than once to defend civil rights. What would he say to a people who supported a would-be king and criminal, a bully who displays contempt for the rights of others? What would he say of us, the beneficiaries of his generous vision? We have fallen so far afoul of Penn that it boggles the mind.

Tom Morphet, Marcus Hook

By the time the election was called, my vote still had not been counted. Despite following the instructions and mailing my ballot a month before Election Day, on Nov. 3 I received an email that my ballot had been challenged. The notice attested I had never been a registered voter and that I had no right to vote in Pennsylvania. The lady who had submitted the challenge was a complete stranger to me. She had no idea of the history of my family, how long we had lived in Pennsylvania, or information on how many times I had voted by absentee ballot over the last several years while living abroad. She had merely paid $10, filed an unsubstantiated claim, and attempted to delay the counting of my vote.

In the following days, I learned thousands of Pennsylvania voters had come under similar challenges as overseas residents. On Nov. 6, the day after the election, all previously filed challenges were revoked simultaneously. It turns out my right to vote as an overseas citizen was fine, provided it didn’t interfere with this private citizen’s interests. This was an attack on the rights of American citizens to participate in free and fair elections.

I’m disgusted a member of my community, especially a woman, would be attempting to suppress voters she disagrees with after barely 100 years of securing her own right to vote. Though I thank the Dauphin County Board of Elections for ensuring my vote was counted in the final tally, I warn other Pennsylvanians that democracy is an active choice that involves all people. And if you believe you deserve a voice in this country’s elections, then you also must accept the voice of someone you disagree with.

Emma Krampe, Dublin

On Nov. 9, our community gathered to celebrate a family friend’s bat mitzvah, a sacred milestone. This ceremony was even more meaningful for me because my son was given the honor of reading from a rescued Torah, one of the sacred scrolls saved from the devastation of World War II. During the Holocaust, Nazis desecrated thousands of Torah scrolls and Jewish artifacts, attempting to erase our heritage. Organizations like the Memorial Scrolls Trust have worked to restore these precious scrolls, each a powerful testament to the survival and resilience of the Jewish people. Reading from one connects us to a past that endured unimaginable hatred and serves as a reminder of our strength.

Yet today, we face a new wave of antisemitism. Recently, a Nazi flag was displayed in Whitpain Township, Montgomery County, while Philadelphia’s historic Mikveh Israel synagogue suffered vandalism and attempted arson. Reminders that hatred still lurks close to home. Even joyous celebrations like bar or bat mitzvahs are marked by a need for security as the rise in antisemitic incidents turns what should be moments of unbridled happiness into occasions shadowed by fear. This cannot be our new normal.

In defiance of this surge, our community stands resilient. Reading from a Torah that survived Nazi terror, especially near the anniversary of 1938’s Kristallnacht, is an act of defiance and hope. Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass, was a violent pogrom orchestrated by the Nazi regime. Jewish businesses, homes, and over 1,400 synagogues were destroyed across Germany and Austria. Despite attempts to intimidate our community, we are still here, teaching our children and upholding our traditions. As we confront modern hatred, let us all commit to fighting antisemitism and hate in all its forms. We can create a world where every community, Jewish and otherwise, can thrive in safety.

Andrew Goretsky, regional director, Anti-Defamation League Philadelphia

The news that three former city officials convicted of crimes have landed taxpayer-funded jobs in Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration and at the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office is symptomatic of a much larger problem. Shame no longer has an effect on politicians. Donald Trump has led the charge in creating this reality. Nothing he says, does, is accused or convicted of has any effect on his role as a politician and his success in elections. He was absolutely right when he said during the 2016 presidential campaign that he could shoot somebody in the middle of Fifth Avenue and it wouldn’t affect his poll ratings. There has been a trickle-down effect from Trump into local politics. The story of these three convicted criminals is the perfect example. Parker’s spokesman, who said that everybody deserves a second chance, is right. That second chance, however, should not be funded by the taxpayers.

Steven J. Barrer, Huntingdon Valley

I read that Americans spend more than 40 hours a year sitting in traffic. A large percentage of that is highway gridlock, though city streets can also be equally annoying. At any given time, I can drive up Powelton Avenue from 33rd to 38th Street and be greeted with a yellow light turning red at each and every intersection. All big intersections (and those with frequent accidents) should have a separate turning light so drivers aren’t playing chicken with oncoming traffic, like at State Road and Ashburner Street, where a young man was killed and five injured earlier this year. The timing (and sometimes lack) of traffic lights makes for frustrated drivers and dangerous conditions. Philadelphia needs a more modernized traffic system.

K. Mayes, Philadelphia

I sympathize with the people who have lost someone to a traffic accident, but more legislation will not solve the problem. I have seen hundreds of vehicles go through stop signs, get in the left turn lane, and then race the vehicle next to them to cross the intersection. Last week, I had a vehicle in the turn lane cut across in front of me to make a right turn while the light was red. Everyone is in a hurry and disregards traffic laws. Even people on bicycles and scooters.

Timothy Wadas, Philadelphia

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