Letters to the Editor, July 10
Deadline to register to vote is July 20
To vote in the Tuesday, Aug. 18, primary election, you must be registered by midnight Monday, July 20.
The Supervisor of Elections Office, at 3750 Enterprise Ave. in East Naples, is open during regular business hours 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
People wishing to register to vote may do so during office hours or online at www.colliervotes.com. Registered voters should be at least 18 years old and U.S. citizens.
Registered voters may make corrections to names and addresses during the normal business hours of the Supervisor of Elections Office.
Jennifer J. Edwards, Collier County Supervisor of Elections
Editor’s note: The period for vote-by-mail ballot mailings will be July 9 to Aug. 10 for the Aug. 18 primary. The deadline for requesting a mail-in ballot will be Aug. 8. Early voting for the primary will be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Aug. 8-15.
A threat of violence against protesters?
I am horrified by the Taliban-like indoctrination of young people in racist extremism that a recent Southern Poverty Law Center article warned about.
In polarized Southwest Florida, many students are out on the streets peacefully supporting Black lives and protesting police violence. Others are on social media, flashing Nazi hand signs and grinning as they repeat the N-word.
Via Facebook, I have become aware of a local radical right-wing group of “grown-ups” planning a Fourth of July rally, threatening “liberal” protesters with rocks, rubber bullets, hoses and stink bombs.
I fear for our enthusiastic youth, some new to social justice, if they cross paths July Fourth with those who intend them harm.
Does exercising First Amendment rights permit threatening physical safety?
Once, aggressive behavior was shrugged off as “Boys will be boys.” Physical aggression and bullying are not acceptable rites of passage anymore. Collier County Public Schools has a zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment, hate speech and bullying by children.
So, shouldn’t adult bullies planning physical harm online be taken seriously by the powers charged with monitoring social media for the sake of public safety? Violent threats are a red flag to be heeded and followed up on appropriately.
Cynthia Odierna, East Naples
No masks at business; no more visits
I just do not understand this. I was out running errands. I know local small businesses are hurting badly, so I try to patronize them. I was shocked to walk into a favorite restaurant to place a to-go order — not a single staff person was wearing a mask.
I told the person at the register that I could not stay and asked: Did they realize how much business they were losing because of that? Her response was that she would tell the manager.
This is not a political statement. The science tells us that wearing masks protects other people. It reduces the infection rate. So, when a business is not wearing masks, especially when our infections are skyrocketing, it says, “I don’t care about my customers.”
Consequently, not only will I not support that business during the pandemic, I will not support that business ever again.
If you are a small-business owner or employee, consider the message you send to customers: “I do not know if you have a pre-existing condition or if you have an elderly parent at home. I don’t care. Just give me your money.”
Not anymore! Happy to spend with the businesses that care about their customers.
Pat Molloy, East Naples
‘Patriots to our country and its ideals?’
A long time ago I received a letter from Sen. Hugh Scott, R-Pa., congratulating me on my new status as an American citizen. He ended his letter with: “Good Americans try to keep themselves well informed. They attempt to vote in every election. They participate wherever they can in the political life of their community. I hope you will also.”
I became a member of the Republican Party and stayed until President Bush lied to me and every other American to take us into a war that cost us trillions of dollars and thousands of American lives. I could not remain a member of a party that supported a made up war for the benefit of their friends who would profit from it.
Now I am hearing lies daily, every time our president speaks or tweets.
And yet there are people who do not mind being held for fools. Who are these people who just don’t care about the truth?
They hide behind the flag and pretend to be patriots, but are they really patriots to our country and its ideals?
Hatred of others seems to be all that is left for them.
They openly flout both their ignorance and their cultism.
Fred Rump, Golden Gate Estates