TNT letters to the editor, 3/18/2021

Racist attacks

I have been reading about the recent attacks on Asian Americans with a heavy heart.

My sister and I write children’s books focused on the history of specific cities. Our Tacoma book includes the brutal expulsion of Chinese laborers who came to help build the railroad in 1885. Our Puyallup story details the internment of Japanese Americans at the Puyallup Fairgrounds during World War II.

A comment is made by one of the characters in our Puyallup book: “It is important to study history so we can learn from the past.”

As a society we have to continue to learn and grow. It would be so easy to collapse in despair. However, I know that these current acts of violence will be collected and examined as we move forward.

We can still learn from our mistakes. We must do better.

Nancy Glen, Tacoma

COVID-19 vaccination

My wife and I happened to be at Graham Kapowsin High School in Graham last weekend. Unbeknownst to us, there was a government-sponsored COVID-19 vaccine event taking place.

Now we all know how difficult it is to make an appointment, anywhere, to get vaccinated these days. But there we were, surrounded by attendants ready and waiting to give you a life-saving shot.

We were so happy. What a relief, just the thought of being saved from possibly dying from this virus.

I pulled up and rolled down the window. To my surprise the attendant asked if I’d made an appointment. No, I said; we didn’t even know this event was scheduled to take place.

I was directed to turn around and leave without being vaccinated.

What did they need via appointment that they couldn’t get from me in person? What’s more important: Saving lives by vaccinating as many Washington residents as you can, or worrying about who made or didn’t make an appointment?

Do the homeless (God bless them) require an appointment?

Norris Potter III, Graham

Litter

Re: “WA state highways are trashed. Don’t expect litter to be picked up any time soon,” (TNT, 3/6).

I have been disgusted by the amount of garbage I have seen.

I cannot believe that anyone who lives in such a beautiful and special place would just ruin it by being so selfish as to just throw stuff out on the road, and expect someone else will clean it up for them.

I guess because people will not police themselves, so we need a renewed anti-litter campaign. There ought to be a big fine along, with mandated time picking up everyone else’s garbage and seeing how awful it is.

I thought as a group we were getting better about taking care of our planet. Unfortunately I was wrong.

Amy Johnson, Gig Harbor

Tacoma history

The death of “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler last weekend brought to my mind his second fight against Tacoma’s own Sugar Ray Seales, held on Nov. 26, 1974 at the Seattle Coliseum.

I was sitting near ringside and still remember being awed by the undefeated Hagler’s machine-like efficiency and punching power.

Ray, who won a boxing gold medal in the 1972 Olympics, was the better boxer and held his own in trading punches with Hagler over the ten-round bout.

The fight was close and could have gone either way on the score cards. Ray had lost to Hagler on a close decision in Boston just three months earlier.

Their rematch was called a draw. It was arguably Sugar Ray’s best fight against one of the greatest of all time.

Bill Baarsma, Tacoma

(Baarsma is president of the Tacoma Historical Society and a former Tacoma mayor)