Letters to the Editor | March 29, 2024

Although most legal scholars believe the U.S. Supreme Court will uphold the unanimous ruling by a federal appeals court denying former President Donald Trump immunity, it may not matter if the trial for election subversion extends beyond Election Day. Should Trump again become president, it is a virtual certainty he will shut down all proceedings, robbing the Supreme Court of its final arbiter status in the process. With the court unable to ensure no one is above the law, the responsibility to uphold the principle of equal justice shifts to the electorate. As custodians of the Constitution by default, voters must subordinate top-priority issues like immigration and women’s reproductive rights to the preservation of democracy, or live with the consequences of a de facto validation of Trump’s designs on absolute power.

Jim Paladino, Tampa, Fla.

The Inquirer devoted a lot of space on Sunday to plans for the future of Market East. It showed a detailed colored map of the area but left out two critical structures. These structures are open 24/7, every day of the year. They never close, and they protect the health and safety of people in the area and beyond. These two structures are the Philadelphia Fire Department station in Chinatown at North 10th and Cherry Streets and the emergency room of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital at South 10th and Sansom Streets.

The proposed Sixers arena is supposed to sit at 10th and Market Streets, two blocks south of the fire station and two blocks north of the ER. The area is already congested. Imagine if an additional 3,700 motor vehicles converge on the area, and 18,500 people then walk the rest of the way on sidewalks and streets. They would choke off access to fire vehicles, ambulances, and people with medical crises when every minute counts. We can’t take the Sixers seriously if they ignore fundamental structures and public safety issues.

Edward Gruberg, Philadelphia, e.gruberg@temple.edu

This Sunday’s Transgender Day of Visibility marks the three-year anniversary since my teen came out as transgender. Over these tumultuous years since that shocking news, I’ve learned it’s not just my child transitioning — I must transform, too. While I knew affirmation meant a higher quality of life and better mental health outcomes for my child, it’s not like a switch flipped and I suddenly understood my daughter to be my son. I had much to work through — his new name and pronouns were like glue in my mouth. But each time I came up against my discomfort, love spurred me on.

The narrow national narrative around transgender youth — a discourse that tends to be as binary as the gender framework it buckles against — doesn’t begin to capture my experiences. What’s missing from the conversation is how transformative navigating a child’s gender transition can be. It wasn’t until I had a conversation with a friend who has different views on abortion that I realized how much I was changing and growing. I found myself curious and open to understanding her perspective. Our productive conversation across differences helped me see that repeatedly smashing up against the limits of my perception of my child’s gender had changed me.

My limited perspective gave way to a multifaceted, evolving understanding of reality. Months of agonizing that my child was a boy brought newfound humility. Parents of transgender youth spend our days stretching, reconstructing, shedding, imagining. Our love for our children compels us to live in tension between reality and possibility, between our broken world and a new world calling us. All the while, we’re cultivating the very qualities not only to endure these perilous times but to shape them. I offer parents like me this hopeful truth: Their love for a child they didn’t expect can lead to flourishing they never imagined.

Shannon Mannon, Phoenixville

The new proposal to help people who have been “courtesy towed” find their cars would be a slight improvement. A much better solution would be electronic notification to car owners of impending towing. The current posted sign system is woefully insufficient in a city where many people use their cars sporadically. Philadelphia Parking Authority workers currently take photos of license plates to automatically check whether a parking fee has been paid; drivers with the meterUP app get alerts when their paid parking time is about to expire. Clearly, the technology exists to notify car owners of any temporary change in parking rules.

A police officer, PPA worker, or company specifically licensed for relocation towing should photograph the license plates of all affected cars twice: once at the initial planning of a relocation towing event, and again several hours before towing starts. A text should suffice. I guarantee that 90% of owners will be out moving their cars in five minutes in their pajamas. This also saves the city or event holder towing fees. You won’t have to find your car because it would never have been “lost” in the first place.

Greg Pastore, Philadelphia

I took my granddaughters to watch the Shen Yun show at the Miller Theater, enticed by the ubiquitous ads promising traditional dances spanning 5,000 years of Chinese civilization. Instead, we got indoctrination by a cult at $125 a ticket. The show started with images of a god on a chariot pulled by winged horses. Two presenters introduced each dance, explaining its religious or political meaning. They made no mystery of their political views against communist China, especially when they introduced a gruesome ballet focused on organ harvesting from political prisoners. A tenor passionately sang a piece against atheism and the theory of evolution. That is when we left the theater, feeling upset and cheated. From a web search, we learned that the Shen Yun shows are run by the Falun Gong spiritual movement, which also runs a variety of extreme right-wing enterprises. Like everyone in the audience, we thought we were going to watch beautiful dancing; instead, we were dragged into the propaganda black hole of a religious sect.

Chiara Nappi, Princeton

Much of the blame for the high cost of gas, groceries, insurance, and the general cost of living is being placed directly on President Joe Biden. However, let us be honest with ourselves. Biden does not and cannot control the cost of a barrel of oil that needs to be refined before it is pumped into your car, or the cost of prescription medication, or the price of groceries, without congressional support. For the two years or so that much of this nation and world was homebound, there was very little spending. As nations began lifting their pandemic restrictions and we began, again, to travel, buy groceries, and other amenities, companies began raising their costs of “doing business.” Once we were able to open our doors again, the cost of everything has jumped. Biden cannot control our spending habits or our personal priorities.

Al Liebeskind, Millsboro, Del.

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