On April 6 I watched the unbelievable actions of the Tennessee legislature in Nashville — where only a week before three 9-year-olds and three adults were murdered with a military assault rifle made for killing — expel three elected members of that body for protesting against such gun violence.
Some of the details were lost because the procedure of voting these members out was going on live. Justin Jones said he broke a House rule for staying in the Well 15 seconds after he was gaveled down, apparently because of his protest. Justin Pearson commented on the House speaker, “who acts as a god, when he’s more of a dictator,” and others pronounced the speaker in the same way. Gloria Johnson, the third member of the House to be voted for expulsion, was a former teacher for 24 years. These three duly elected representatives with constituents were in the minority of the House and were pushed aside, never allowed to speak. That situation brought about their protest, their urgency to save people’s lives.
Gloria Johnson had been teaching in an outdoor classroom when children came running down the hill toward her and her class screaming, terrified by what they had just witnessed in their cafeteria: at least one child murdered with the cafeteria full, with the principal there, with the police there. She had lived for some time knowing the trauma “in their faces” and she did not want to ever forget it. Her first protests brought her punishment and removal to a tiny office during COVID where she could not even practice social distancing.
Justin Pearson relayed to reporters that “They are calling children in the state of Tennessee insurrectionists.” I assumed he meant “they” to be people in the legislature. This was in an interview.
In the hallways of the Tennessee House young people stood and yelled mightily. They were the overflow who could not get into the gallery. When the votes to expel were tabulated electronically, you could hear and see the ones outside and inside shout “shame! shame! shame! It was heartening to hear and see these young people give the Tennessee Three support.
This was not about Donald Trump. This was about the Republican Party. They made martyrs of three articulate, brave, heroic people protesting calmly within their constitutional rights.
Shirley Rickett
Alamo
Cartels feed
U.S. demand
The president of Mexico has mentioned something that irritates some people but is true. He has stated in a number of times in that the U.S. drug problem has been created by drug-abusing Americans, no one else.
If a business operates on supply and demand, American drug users are demanding more drugs and that creates the suppliers who will supply the illegal drugs because of the demand for it. He is correct in saying that the drug cartels were created because of the demand of illegal drug use.
He further states that if there were no demand there would be no supplies to sell.
We have done nothing to stop the drug use in America and expect the Mexican cartels to operate and enrich themselves on our illegal drug habit. We need to put a stop here and nowhere else, and we have no one to blame but ourselves for ignoring the problem.
How serious are we to stop the illegal drug use in America today? The silence is deafening.
Rafael Madrigal
Pharr
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