It’s time for Beaufort County public school teachers to return to the classrooms
On teachers
Why is it that all the private schools in Beaufort County can open safely with students in the building while the public schools of Beaufort can’t?
I know — by reading the paper and watching the news — that it’s because teachers are afraid of being exposed to COVID-19.
Give me a break.
If these same teachers can be out and about buying groceries, shopping at Target or Walmart and visiting friends — or doing whatever else they’re doing outside their homes with no idea of who they’re coming in contact with — then they can certainly be in a classroom day after day with the same children in a safe, social distancing environment.
As a former teacher of 20-plus years I have seen how all of this has affected my five grandchildren in a negative way. It is time for them to return to some sort of normalcy.
Teachers, it’s time to get back to work in the classroom with the children.
Susan Wiley, Beaufort
On the curfew
The hypocrisy behind the 11 p.m. alcohol curfew is so thick that it’s palpable, and here’s just one example of why that’s the case:
A group of people have a 6 p.m. reservation for dinner at a local restaurant. As they get out of their cars in the parking lot, they don their masks. They wear them to the host stand, and they keep them on as they are escorted to their table.
But once they reach the table — BAM! — the group of diners suddenly whip off their masks. They carelessly discard the masks on the table or tuck them inside their purses. Now they are sitting, eating, drinking, talking and laughing in close proximity to each other — all while being surrounded by other people who aren’t wearing masks as they eat, drink, talk and laugh.
After 90 minutes the group of diners pay their bill, get up from their table, don their masks and walk back to their vehicles.
But according to those who have imposed the 11 p.m. curfew, we don’t have to worry about this group of diners transmitting COVID-19. According to them, COVID-19 can only be transmitted after 11 p.m. in a bar that has few customers — if any — who are over the age of 80 and have underlying health conditions.
This is preposterous.
I believe that if you want to wear a mask, you should continue to do so — and that if you’re afraid or sick, you should stay home. Either way you should do what’s best for you — and we should all put this charade behind us. I’ve seen old, sick people eating and drinking in crowded places at 5 p.m., and I say more power to them!
Folks may disagree, but I think herd immunity is a pretty good bet.
Sandon Preston, Hilton Head
On Djokovic
The fabulous No. 1-ranked tennis player Novak Djokovic was recently disqualified from the U.S. Open after making a terrible and careless bonehead mistake during a moment of anger.
Djokovic broke a rule, paid the price and suffered the consequences.
What a good example of someone accepting responsibility for their mistake.
Djokovic appeared genuinely sorry for his actions, and in my world there is such a thing as forgiveness.
P.S. — I am not even a Djokovic fan.
Lynn Green, Hilton Head
On Trump
President Donald Trump calls himself the “law and order” president, but actions speak louder than words.
After rioting, Trump is willing — without being asked — to send in “his” troops, who have not been trained in domestic crowd control, to quell the disturbance.
But the immediate cause of the disturbances is usually a police killing an unarmed Black man for minor infractions. And the festering cause of the disturbances is the deliberately unequal treatment of Black Americans by the police, courts, real estate agents, employers and some of the white population.
A true “law and order” president would:
▪ Tell the police to stop killing unarmed Black Americans.
▪ Support the constitutional right to peacefully protest.
▪ Support the constitutional right to free speech.
▪ Promote legislation to decrease racial disparities.
▪ Tell his subordinates to testify under oath.
▪ Obey subpoenas and provide his tax returns.
▪ Tell his rally supporters to not beat up protesters.
▪ Tell North Carolinians to only vote once.
▪ Decry white supremacist terrorism.
Thomas Balliet, Bluffton
On Pelosi
Our Great Leader, better known as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was recently caught not wearing a face mask while at a salon.
Pelosi thinks she is above the law and can do whatever she wants. But this time Pelosi was caught, and she should be punished for it.
Pelosi has often stated that President Donald Trump puts himself above the law — but while that has never been proven, she has been caught on video doing what she accuses our president of doing.
Our younger generation will look at what Pelosi did and say, “If she doesn’t need to wear a mask, why should I?”
Robert Williams, Beaufort
This story was originally published September 8, 2020 at 10:36 AM.