TNT letters: Pedestrian safety; drunk driving; homelessness; hiring felons

Pedestrian safety

Hey there, Tacoma drivers! Do you think pedestrians should be allowed to cross the street, or just be run over? In the past week alone, I have almost been hit while I had a walk signal over a dozen times at various spots in the Proctor District. At North 30th Street and Proctor I watched as two walkers banged on the hood of a car turning right against the light to avoid getting hit, and the same thing happened to me in Old Town.

What is the deal? Why do you think it’s okay to run into pedestrians? Everyone has their own story for why they walk. Some folks can’t afford a car. I cannot drive due to a traumatic brain injury. There are walk signals for a reason, and if you don’t care about other peoples’ lives, perhaps you do care about the jail time associated with vehicular manslaughter.

Aidan Castle, Tacoma

Drunk driving

For many of us, the holidays mean coming home. Being reunited with family and friends, might also mean figuring out how to avoid certain topics of conversation with people you love but don’t always agree with. One topic that can’t be ignored is impaired driving.

The greatest gift you can give someone at a holiday gathering is an alternative to driving impaired. Impaired drivers make up a small portion of drivers on our roads (in a Washington study of nighttime drivers, only two percent of drivers had a BAC over .05), but impaired driving was a factor in 60 percent of all traffic fatalities last year.

Most of us agree that it’s unacceptable to drive impaired by alcohol or other drugs, and most of us, when in a situation to intervene, take action to prevent impaired driving. Give someone a ride, order a cab or ride share, let them sleep on your couch, or even call 911 if your offers go unaccepted. It might feel uncomfortable to come between an impaired friend and their car, but it’s a heroic act that can save lives. And we can always use more heroes.

Renee Tinder, Tacoma

Homelessness

Re: “State Rep: I was homeless once. The time for Pierce County to take action is now” (TNT, 12/14/2021)

Representative Melanie Morgan’s Op-Ed hit a nerve. Three years ago in her first legislative campaign, I joined her knocking on voters’ doors. She was smart and hard working, and looked ready for office. I didn’t know she was couch-surfing much of the time, with no home of her own.

When we met at her car I saw cardboard boxes of juice and snacks on one side of the trunk, shoes and suits and blouses neatly arranged in the rest of the space. She had no home printer, of course; we used the library to print our door-knocking list for the day. But I didn’t get it. My privileges screened out the need of this bright, healthy, well-presented woman. She wasn’t huddled in a doorway or screaming in the middle of the street. But she didn’t have a home.

May we all open our eyes wider, to see past our privileges to the pain around us. So many in our community are suffering from shelter insecurity, and they don’t all live rough on Puyallup’s Main Street or on Garfield in Parkland. They are regular people ashamed to tell us their stories.

Janet Thiessen, Tacoma

Hiring felons

How long do I have to serve? I am a convicted felon that has served the sentence I was given by the court system yet it seems that I am not done serving time. I am desperately looking for a job that will enable me to be a productive member of society. I have a ton of experience, a college degree, and test very well on a large percentage of aptitude tests yet as soon as potential employers discover that I have a criminal record I am automatically disqualified for the position. I am bonded by the government, any company that hires me receives a tax credit yet I still cannot get a job based on my skills and abilities because I made some bad choices in my past.

When do I get an opportunity to show that I have changed? When does 8% of the American population get a chance to live a productive life? I am ashamed of my past, but I really do hope I get a chance at a successful future.

Is there anyone that will see me for who I am not what I was?

David Miles, Kent