To the Editor:
Regarding Pamela Paul’s “No, I don’t want to protest” (column, June 21):
I have always enjoyed Pamela Paul’s well-articulated and proudly dissenting opinions, but in this column she not only declares, almost boastfully, that she would not willingly participate in protests, but also seems to downplay the value and effectiveness of protests.
Protest is, after all, a central part of America’s historical heritage. As Paul acknowledges, “We live in a country born of protest.” Wasn’t the War of Independence our epic protest against Britain’s oppressive colonial rule?
My guess is that Mr. Paul doesn’t support the recent student camps protesting Israel’s aggressive actions in Gaza. (I don’t, by the way.) But what about the sit-ins and marches by Martin Luther King and others against Jim Crow laws in the South in the 1950s and 1960s? Or the labor unions that organized the movement for better wages and workers’ rights in the 1930s? Or the women who led marches for women’s suffrage in the early 20th century?
It’s fine if Paul chooses not to participate in protests — that’s her right, of course — but she should also try to respect and even admire those serious Americans who, for moral and/or political reasons, decide to march for a cause that might create a better world.
Robert Gange
new york
The author is director of the Police Reform Organization Project.
To the Editor:
I’ve been waiting for someone to condemn the ignorant, sometimes spiteful, and often absurd protests swirling around on and off college campuses, and I’m grateful to Pamela Paul for doing just that.
I myself was a campus radical many years ago, but in my zeal I never questioned Chairman Mao or the Cultural Revolution, probably knowing nothing else about it except that it was a revolution. So what’s wrong with that?
Reading Paul’s column reminded me of a cartoon I love from The New Yorker magazine, in which a father sits in an armchair explaining to his teenage son, “Sure, there was sex and drugs when I was your age, but it was sex and drugs to end the war.”
Norman Levin
Teaneck, New Jersey
To the Editor:
I also don’t want to take part in protests. I feel social anxiety easily in crowded places. I avoid conflict and fear being the target of someone’s anger or resentment.
But simply because I don’t like something doesn’t mean I have any special insight into whether that particular activity would be effective, meaningful, or productive for other people.
While I believe change begins from within, such as by sitting quietly and reflecting, as Pamela Paul encourages, I also recognize that awareness is the first step, and action comes next. If not protest, what would you suggest for people who want to stop their tax dollars being used for conflicts they do not support? I understand the need for social critique of the ways in which we try to create change, but I am astonished by the suggestion that any collective effort is submissive or shameful.
So, I don’t protest, but I support those who do. I support and participate in divestment efforts and boycotts of problematic companies. I also donate. I will continue to reach out to representatives to share information and educate others about the need for Palestinian liberation. I am determined to do all I can to prevent further loss of life.
Jamie Lavonoski
Milton, Massachusetts
“Stop blaming Joe Biden.”
To the Editor:
I am tired of the constant stream of news articles and Times op-eds urging President Biden to step down as the Democratic nominee because of his poor performance in the recent debates.
He looked bad on the night of June 27, but that doesn’t mean he can’t run the country the way he has done so well for the last three and a half years. Choosing another candidate at this late date would be a risky move for the Democratic Party.
The Times should publish more news and opinion pieces about the danger Donald Trump poses to our country, his lies in the presidential debates, and the strategy of his supporters’ Project 2025. And then his betrayal on January 6th.
We should stop blaming Joe Biden and report more on the evils that a second Trump term would bring to the country.
Suzanne Skyrm
Vermillion, South Dakota
“An act of civic solidarity”: Why voting matters
To the Editor:
Regarding Matthew Walther’s “Why I Don’t Vote” (Opinion Guest Essay, nytimes.com, July 4th):
Walther argues that voting is “meaningless” because elections are never decided by a single vote — it’s merely an “expression” that has no impact on the outcome, like rooting for your favorite sports team.
But even if that were true, what’s wrong with it being “expressive”? In fact, Walther supports this notion, arguing that “if voting is expressive, surely the same can be said for not voting.”
So what is he expressing by not voting? It seems to be cynicism and despair. Walther believes that voting “will not change the fact that financialization, environmental destruction, drug addiction, the hollowing out of the public sector, and the absorption of nearly every aspect of human existence into reality-augmenting digital media have turned this country into an uninhabitable wasteland.”
But not voting doesn’t “express” anything about these issues, and how else is Walther going to solve these problems?
Voting is an act of civic solidarity — solidarity with our fellow citizens and with those who marched and fought and died for the right to vote — and that’s a bond worth affirming, no matter what the outcome of the vote.
Stuart Altshuler
new york
To the Editor:
Matthew Walter’s essay presents a complex argument for not voting that is terrible because if everyone takes the same stance, then elections would logically become meaningless and democracy itself would cease to exist.
While I agree that a single vote is unlikely to affect who wins in most elections, the process of deliberately thinking through the people, policies, and parties you want to support is valuable in itself, and many of the discussions people have as they share ideas before an election will affect what is politically acceptable.
Simply put, voting is much more than just filling out a ballot.
David Brown
Montreal
Immigrant Support in New York
To the Editor:
Kudos to Bliss Broyard’s “All the Shelter City Schools Can Offer” (Opinion magazine guest essay, June 30).
This is happening all across the city: public school parents and teachers are standing up for newcomers to New York, petitions are being written for places of worship to use as shelters, and community groups are providing food and clothing and organizing protests against the city’s 30- and 60-day eviction policies.
As the article makes clear, this eviction policy is disruptive and often re-traumatizing, robbing tens of thousands of immigrants and asylum seekers of the resilience and determination to learn English, get job training, and go to work to bolster the economy.
We urgently need more funding for the organizations that provide aid, more budgets for the schools that receive it, and more work permits and hiring capacity. The city’s economic future depends on it.
Ruth W. Messinger
new york
The author, a social justice consultant and immigrant center volunteer, served as Manhattan borough president from 1990 to 1997 and was the Democratic candidate for New York City mayor in 1997.
