Letters to the Editor | Oct. 9, 2022

According to reports, State Rep. John Lawrence opened District Attorney Larry Krasner’s impeachment hearing by commenting on the Philadelphia citizens who were demonstrating support for Krasner with a peaceful vigil as follows: “This committee will not be drawn into the gutter filled with circus animals …”

Having read this, I feel the urgent need to write and condemn these words. While I count myself a supporter of Krasner, I have had conversations with others who are critical of his tenure. Somehow, we manage to have this exchange without calling each other animals from the gutter.

This kind of character assassination is at the core of the danger to democracy we are experiencing as a nation. One of the important freedoms granted by our Constitution is the right to assemble and protest. Indeed, it is nothing less than patriotic to stand for what you believe is right and crucial to our nation.

Our gun violence problem is grievous and complex. No one has a monopoly on ways we can work our way out of this devastation. But I have a pretty good idea that calling each other animals from the gutter isn’t going to help.

Regardless of one’s opinion about Krasner’s approach to criminal justice, many of us voters in Philadelphia think a state-level committee does not have the right to impeach Krasner. Attempting to do this constitutes a denial of the rights and electoral voice of Philadelphians.

Deborah Zubow, Philadelphia

The Inquirer’s Oct. 5 editorial endorsing the plan to destroy acres of woodlands and meadows in FDR Park suggests that the newspaper is lacking information.

Nobody objects to improving the wetlands and tidal controls. The new plan, however, which has already resulted in the bulldozing of scores of mature trees, would destroy vast natural areas to construct athletic facilities — including 12 soccer fields. These would be placed centrally in the park, not on the “outskirts,” as The Inquirer claims.

The city should enact an immediate moratorium on the destruction until community hearings can be conducted on the best uses of FDR Park, and to determine alternative locations for athletic fields in the city.

Michael Schreiber, Philadelphia

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