Servers at Hilton Head restaurants need to wear masks | Letters

As my husband and I think about perhaps going out to eat at one of our local restaurants, we have heard only disturbing news.

Friends who have gone to some of the restaurants have said that the bars and/or restaurants are packed, no face masks, no social distancing (except for 8 feet between the tables).

I know that face masks can be uncomfortable, however their use can greatly reduce the spread of the virus.

I would expect servers to wear masks. I will not be returning any time soon to any restaurants that are apparently not overly concerned about my health.

I suppose all the tourists will help them pay their bills, and lead to an increase in local COVID-19 cases.

Carol Horowitz

Hilton Head Island

Trump wrong about masks

In this time of crisis, our nurses and doctors are doing a magnificent job.

As a former nurse and nursing professor, I know what they’re going through. They work long, hard hours in constant anxiety, worried about their patients and families. Fear is visible in their eyes. Worry lines etch their faces, deepened by the protective masks they wear.

So it’s all the more upsetting to see national leaders make matters worse by shunning protective masks. Why are they careless with their lives and those of others? Are they just too vain to put on a mask?

President Donald Trump should be setting the example for all Americans by wearing a mask at each and every public appearance. Instead, he refuses to wear one, even when touring a factory where protective masks are made.

His reason? Trump said he’d only wear one if he “thought it was important.” Just last week, he said, “Somehow, I don’t see it for myself.”

Always the narcissist, it’s only about him. He doesn’t get that masks protect others from his coughs and sneezes, and that if we all wear them we’re better protected.

In the Czech Republic, where masks are mandatory for public outings, they have a slogan: “I protect you, you protect me.”

So, Mr. President, it really is about you, everyone around you and every American.

Ignore the unmasked man in the White House. Wear your mask publicly and proudly. I protect you, you protect me.

JoAnne Gatti-Petito

Bluffton

About that open economy

The Trump administration has issued new guidelines, in conjunction with the CDC, on how we should proceed with re-opening the economy. It’s titled “Shop Until you Drop.”

Hal Cherry

Hilton Head Island

Love, peace, and more smiles

As I see my contemporaries disappear (so much less threatening than “die”), I’ve been struggling with a sense of loss and the accompanying grief. But I have found hope and happiness … yes, happiness. I’ve discovered a sense of appreciation for the lives lived instead of dwelling on the lives lost.

Maybe every generation feels unique, gifted, different. But as a baby boomer in my 70s, I’m seeing the world through a special lens now.

I can’t say whether my personal sphere is different than other boomers, but I’m struck by the level of intellectual irreverence I see amongst my peers. It makes me smile to be part of this.

I’m not a sociologist or psychologist, and I certainly can’t offer statistics, but I’ve been blessed to be a part of this generation. Was it the disconnect between the 1950s middle class fantasy lifestyle, or maybe JFK’s assassination, that burst the bubble?

Did the Vietnam War (and draft) result in this irreverence? I know there was an awakening to the social inequities and prejudices that are etched into our country’s fabric. Was it the escape into hallucinogens? Woodstock? I can’t say.

But today, social media has bridged isolation and I’m finding many things that make me happy.

So I want to thank my circle of friends and neighbors for being part of my life. Whatever happens, we have a lot to smile about and we should take every opportunity to do so.

Science will catch up to the disease. Love the life you are living.

Stephen Reisman

Bluffton

Dueling quotes from US senator

A quiz:

What U.S. senator said to a U.S. Supreme Court justice nominee who was accused during the Senate confirmation hearings of sexual misconduct: “The presumption is with you. With me, the presumption is with you, and, in my opinion, it should be with you until all the evidence is in and people make a judgment.”

Hint: The year was 1993.

What U.S. senator said to another U.S. Supreme Court justice nominee who was accused during the Senate confirmation hearings of sexual misconduct: “For a woman to come forward in the glaring lights of focus, nationally, you’ve got to start off with the presumption that at least the essence of what she’s talking about is real, whether or not she forgets facts, whether or not it’s been made worse or better over time.”

Hint: The year was 2018.

Another hint. It was the same person.

Francis Newton

St. Helena Island

Trump delivers as he promised

As a 40-year resident of our beautiful Lowcountry, I cringe when I see hateful, socialist letters in the Packet. The fact that you are sitting here reading the Packet is because of capitalism. Of course, I’m sure you worked hard and saved some money. That’s how the system works.

As combat veterans, my wife and I put our lives on the line to allow you freedom of speech. Abusing this privilege, you have attempted to bludgeon the executive office at every turn with a constant stream of media/political hoaxes. (Today, the Packet warned us of future hoaxes: the second wave of the (alleged) pandemic; citizens without air-conditioning dying from heat in 2070; and the old reliable: hurricane season approaching.)

President Donald Trump is accomplishing what he was elected (fair and square) to do. Typically, it is under budget and ahead of time. Of more than a dozen presidents I’ve lived under, he is easily the best.

As a retired family doctor with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, let me propose a solution: we could dispatch psychiatrists to canvas citizens who are out of touch with reality. Confirmed socialists could freely drop their American citizenship and take up residence in any of the many failed socialist countries.

If medical services are required to receive a visa, etc., I would offer to do this work at no charge. Then socialists could stop projecting the hateful psychoses that are starting to get in the way of our enjoyment of the American freedom that we’ve earned.

Dr. Peter Frank

Ridgeland

Hypocrisy and demagoguery

I am responding to a recent letter with the headline “The epitome of sleaze” that rants and raves about President Donald Trump in all eight paragraphs using terms such as sleaze, superficiality, stupidity, goofball and a buffoon.

The writer is entitled to her opinion, as am I.

I am a daily reader of the Packet for several years and do not recall the writer’s opinion on the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation where liberal senators Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand and Elizabeth Warren all said they believed accuser Christine Blasey Ford, but now do not believe Tara Reade.

Or Joe Biden’s “you have to believe women” then, but not now when he is the accused.

Hypocrisy?

What really got my attention was the statement, “There are many other qualified, experienced presidential candidates to lead the country – even Republican ones.”

Get that, even Republican ones, as if conservatives are second-class citizens.

I have not seen this much demagoguery in one letter in a very long time.

Billy Riggs

Hilton Head Island