Trump and MAGA’s cruelty perverts the Christian religion | Opinion

MAGA perverts Christianity

Every time something tragic happened in a blue state, a liberal city or to the LGBTQ+ community, so-called “Christian” Republicans — especially the MAGA crowd — were quick to call it a sign from God. These are the same people who mock climate science, dismissing man-made climate change as a “liberal hoax,” all while blindly worshiping a man who has cheated on every wife he’s had, lies compulsively, spreads hatred and thrives on cruelty.

They cheer as he runs up trillions in national debt to hand obscene tax cuts to billionaires — at the direct expense of the middle class and the poor. They cheer when migrants are sent to Florida’s so-called “alligator concentration camps.” They cheer at suffering, as long as it fits their twisted narrative.

But what do they think when a biblical flood devastates a Christian summer camp, killing innocent young girls? Is that not a “sign from God?” Or does divine judgment only apply when it targets people they already hate?

Maybe, this is the real sign: that the God they’ve hijacked for hate is telling them to turn back, to repent and to stop worshiping a cruel, vindictive man who leads them not toward salvation — but straight into moral rot.

Lewis Bennett, Port Angeles

Please fix our street

My husband and I live in central Tacoma. In addition to both of us being over 65, I’m legally blind and sometimes need a walker. In the last 18 months, all residential streets near us were repaved. Ours, the last one, was just completed.

There is one glaring difference in ours. Unlike the rest, which were paved curb-to-curb, ours has an ugly wide graveled section running along each curbside while only the center is paved. Additionally, the blacktop sits about 1.5 inches higher than the gravel, creating 2 trip hazards and possibly devaluing our home. The city authorities told us that they are only required to pave the part people drive on.

I think intelligent people know better. Crossings were upgraded at every intersection with blended curbs and bumps to alert the blind that they’ve reached a crossing. How can this ADA violation be committed on the same street?

Whoever authorized this lawsuit-waiting-to-happen should be held fully accountable for this disregard of the regulations small business owners must satisfy when constructing public spaces. It must be corrected.

Shelley Magnussen, Tacoma

Try out Learning Co-op

Tacoma has a new school option — the Spokane Learning Co-op. As a public school teacher for over 25 years, I am telling you – do not send your kids there. The SLC is a self-directed learning center. It has no grades, no curriculum, no homework. Students are expected to explore their own interests, take control of their own learning and even problem-solve — all with staff support but no extensive staff instruction. How are our students expected to learning anything in such an environment? What kind of a place is this?

Simply – it is the best option for kids.

Public schools stopped being about kids a very long time ago. Now they are about coercion, sitting still (using drugs if necessary) and only learning when they want you to learn, even when the research clearly shows kids are not developmentally ready. It is all about the test scores.

SLC has actually read, and applied, the research. Kids are born wanting to learn. As kids are ready, SLC is ready to support that learning. It empowers kids to be bold thinkers and compassionate changemakers, to learn when they are ready and to become lifelong lovers of knowledge.

Nikki Lardas, Olympia