Letters to the Editor | Aug. 1, 2025

It’s been astonishing to scroll through social media and see so many fellow Gen Xers expressing grief over Hulk Hogan’s death. I’ve seen posts sharing childhood memories, calling him a legend, thanking him for the memories, and treating him like some sort of lovable American icon. I understand nostalgia. I get that many grew up watching wrestling, but at some point, adulthood demands that we reassess the people we once admired, especially when their real character is so far removed from the one they played in the ring.

There’s no reason to sugarcoat it. Hulk Hogan was a racist, a homophobe, a steroid abuser, and an offensively loud, loyal supporter of Donald Trump and the MAGA movement. He wasn’t just quietly conservative. He openly aligned himself with the most toxic aspects of the culture war. He used slurs. He peddled hateful rhetoric. And he did it all without apology, even when caught on tape. That’s not old school. Hogan was simply hateful.

The idea that he’s now being remembered as some sort of complicated cultural figure who meant a lot to a generation is absurd. He meant something to kids before we knew better. Of course, I’m not glad he died. But I also won’t pretend he was something he wasn’t. He made me sick in life, and I refuse to manufacture reverence in death just because we once watched him tear his shirt off on TV for our amusement. There was nothing fun or funny about it when he tore off his shirt at the Republican National Convention in support of Donald Trump. I’m too old to confuse nostalgia with moral amnesia. Hulk Hogan wasn’t a hero. I see no reason we shouldn’t say so, plainly.

Gil Marder, Philadelphia

The recent content review of exhibits at Independence National Historical Park that highlight the tension between liberty and slavery has sparked concern. While the park falls under the authority of the executive branch, and each administration has the right to evaluate programming, how that power is used matters deeply. We should never shy away from correcting factual inaccuracies. But reframing or removing content simply because it makes us uncomfortable or is said to “disparage” Americans risks turning our shared history into a political tool.

Political pressure on civic institutions isn’t new, and it doesn’t come from just one side. I’ve seen it from both the right and the left. What’s at stake is not just historical interpretation, but public trust. If our cultural institutions begin tailoring content to partisan preferences, they risk losing the very audiences they aim to serve. At the National Liberty Museum, we know liberty is multifaceted and sometimes messy. If we presented only one view of it, we’d not only betray our mission, we’d alienate half our visitors. Public institutions must be bold enough to tell the full story and trusted enough to be heard across divides.

Alaine K. Arnott, CEO, National Liberty Museum, Philadelphia

One of the questions I’m hoping all Democratic and Republican candidates will answer is, what is a greater threat to our children? Is it a man walking the neighborhood with a loaded military-style assault weapon like the rifle that was used in New York City recently to kill four people; or is it the million undocumented farm laborers who are targets for deportation by President Donald Trump who are hired by American farm owners to handpick our fruits and vegetables, including approximately 28 million pounds of Jersey fresh peaches?

Reggie Regrut, Phillipsburg

So l turn on the local news last Monday, and I’m greeted with the news that there were 12 shootings in Philly over the weekend, resulting in three deaths. Of course, l was shocked, but not surprised. Weekends during the summer tend to bring swarms of people out for block parties, family gatherings, pop-up get-togethers, and the like. It seems that more and more shootings are taking place where there are crowds of people. What is triggering these shootings? News reports say that many of them result from altercations that escalate into violence. The news coverage of the latest incident featured Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel railing against this tragic loss of life, and condemning the cowardly, senseless acts of the shooters. That’s to be expected, but the citizens of our city need to hear what is being done to bring down the still-high number of shootings.

It’s a well-known fact that too many Philadelphians have illegal guns, especially teens and young men. No matter how many police officers are put on the streets, and no matter how sophisticated new crime-fighting technologies are implemented, shootings will not decrease to what might be considered an acceptable level. Guns must be taken away from people who should not have them. How that could be done is the elephant in the room. Perhaps a sensible, constitutional version of stop-and-frisk could again be put into practice. Mayor Cherelle L. Parker needs to work with Bethel to try to identify the root causes of gun violence, and to also get most guns off the streets.

Jack Butler, Philadelphia

Since when is an invitation to Epstein Island, the infamous demonic den of sex trafficking and pedophilia, considered a privilege? That’s what the lazy media should have challenged Donald Trump on immediately after the president said that he “never had the privilege” of being asked to go there. Then as a follow-up, why not ask if Trump realizes that some Americans would consider it a privilege to keep their life-sustaining Medicaid — which they may lose thanks to his Big Dumb Bill — all so he can pay for tax cuts for his billionaire buddies. By the way, whatever happened to Epstein Island? I propose it be refurbished in the image of Alligator Alcatraz, with Trump as the first to receive the privilege of an extended visit.

Vin Morabito, Scranton

. . .

A Freudian slip can be defined as an unintentional expression of one’s true feelings. And so, it was with great surprise and horror that we learned that President Donald Trump said he had not had the “privilege” of going to Jeffrey Epstein’s private island where wealthy and powerful men engaged in sexual activities with underage girls. Privilege? Did Trump really say that he did not have that privilege? Yes, he really said that during his trip to Scotland. This must be the ultimate Freudian slip, that Trump was not invited to participate in this particular episode of depravity. Was there something else that Trump did participate in? He certainly seems desperate to keep the public, especially his MAGA followers, from finding out what he might have been involved in. If Trump has nothing to hide, then he should hide nothing. Epstein is dead. Ghislaine Maxwell is in prison, perhaps waiting for a pardon. Trump knows what he did, and we need to know, too.

Sheryl Kalick, Philadelphia

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