‘Letter to the Editor’ Archives
Letter to the Editor
I am writing in response to Peter Molenaar's May op-ed, "Peace Be With You." In this piece, Mr. Molenaar repeats a number of Russian talking points about Ukraine, all of which are refutable by listening to Ukrainian both here at home in Minneapolis or on the ground in Ukraine. But more importantly, as someone with a long academic background studying fascism and the far right, I want to speak to his accusations of Ukrainian "fascistic gangs." Put simply: to believe that, prior to February 24th, there were roving bands of fascists roaming the streets of Kharkiv or Mariupol is false. Fascist groups in Ukraine were and are tiny. They had no meaningful representation in the parliament, nor did the Azov Battalion--about which so much has been said--ever grow beyond about 1000 members. Putin's brutal leveling of their home city of Mariupol has likely killed most of them. Good riddance, but let us also keep their size in perspective. Russian (and Soviet) uses of the word 'fascist' [...]
Letter to the Editor April ’22
Two Reactions to Articles in the March 2022 Issue: For Marti Maltby: Please stop perpetuating the myth that panhandling and homelessness are the same thing. As a block leader who has tried unsuccessfully for years on behalf of my block club to get some kind of regulation of panhandlers, I have been told by neighbors that they could actually identify a house where the panhandlers lived at one point. These are the people I encounter at literally every street corner and, in my neighborhood, all up and down the 35W entrance and exit ramps. And yes, as I have also been told by neighbors, every one of them was high on something when the neighbor attempted to speak to them. They and their friends leave their needles and other paraphernalia for little children to find or step on, creating a public health problem. And when one of my neighbors asked a panhandler to please not panhandle on the sidewalk surrounding his corner lot, he was rewarded with a brick through his truck window. Both [...]
Letter to the Editor: Responding to “Ebenezer Land”
Public Housing: The Best-Kept Secret I think it's worth noting that the summary of the article on public housing that you quoted from us was "The best-kept secret about public housing is that most of it actually provides decent, affordable housing to many people. Properly run, it remains one of the best options for housing the poor." The quote you selected describes not something intrinsic to public housing, but what happens when it is designed and funded in a cynical manner by people who would like to see it fail. I encourage readers to explore the full article. shelterforce.org/1994/09/01/public-housing-what-went-wrong/ Miriam Axel-Lute CEO/Editor-in-Chief Shelterforce
