Sept 28 Letters to the Editor

‘Let it begin with me’

Dear City Council: Great job keeping Moscow safe. No referendum required. Suggested song for protesters, “Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.” Thanks Moscow PD for your restraint.

Sue Scott

Moscow

A questionable translation

I read in the Sept. 24 Daily News of the latest nonmasked, nondistanced public gathering of about 150 Christ Church people in Moscow for a “psalm sing,” violating the mask/distance order created to protect public health.

How did Jesus’ command “love thy neighbor” get translated into “infect thy neighbor” by these who profess to follow him?

Mary Carloye

Pullman

Questions for police chief

Good afternoon chief. I just read a story about the arrest of Sean and Rachel Bohnet and have to say that I am very disappointed to see this type of police activity being done in the great state of Idaho. I am very curious as to what crime these two people were charged with and when that law was voted into place by the Idaho legislature.

I am also curious as to the oath of office that you and your jackbooted thugs repeated while you were all being sworn in as law enforcement officers. I am pretty sure it did not say that you would violate the civil rights of the people that you were hired to serve. Or is it that you only serve your masters and do what it is that they tell you to do, in order to protect your job, paycheck and retirement?

I should remind you that a citizen does not need to show a police officer their identification unless there is suspicion of a crime being committed. I will ask you again, what crime was the officer investigating in order to justify demanding identification? I would also like to ask you to respond to the allegations in regards to the wedding that the mayor of Moscow and some of the Moscow Police officers attended, where people were not wearing masks.

Wouldn’t this be construed as a two-tier justice system and that what is good for the people is not good for the politicians and police? I truly hope a day comes when the people that have been falsely arrested file a civil lawsuit and name every one of your officers involved, their supervisory staff, the jailers, the jailer’s supervisory staff, yourself and the city for the violation of their rights.

You sir, are a disgrace to the badge that you wear and to the profession of law enforcement.

Jason Trabakoolas

Caldwell

It’s evil to spread disease

Mr. Sumpter, I was listening to your radio show on PJ Media. The episode about the arrests of singers in Moscow. Your argument that Jesus sets us free is true. But the next argument you make is objectively false. The Moscow City Council is not trying to make healthy people “act like they’re sick.” Moscow has had a very low COVID-19 problem because of the mask ordinance. It is also true that America’s Founding Fathers are more than Doug Wilson and Glenn Beck make them out to be: Simplistic individuals who believed more in faith than science. The truth is, there were several enlightened men in that group.

They were people who believed in scientific inquiry and God. They would have worn masks if they were told that it prevented disease from spreading.

Your church’s public event was a valid protest against the hypocrisy of liberals in the Moscow City Council who don’t follow their own ordinance.

However, getting arrested for your protest does not suddenly give you the moral high ground. And that’s because there is truth on both sides of the issue and misleading and hypocritical behavior also on both sides.

To be against mask wearing during the pandemic is to invite long-term health problems and death into your family, church and town. That’s not what Jesus would recommend, is it? Your pastor Doug Wilson is more than just controversial. He has been waiting for years for a moment like this to ignite a faux outrage against all liberals everywhere.

But Dr. Fauci isn’t a liberal, he is a conservative Catholic. And many doctors and scientists are also not liberals. Mask wearing prevents the spread of COVID-19. Everyone knows that’s true. It is evil to intentionally spread disease. Christ Church knowingly spreads disease in public and calls it freedom.

Thom Anderson

Moscow

The persecution narrative

Events can have many perspectives; especially fraught, political ones. The Sept. 23 flash-sing at City Hall shows differences in viewpoint. Were Christians innocently arrested for singing freely, or did they stubbornly violate local law? Due to Douglas Wilson’s public opposition to the mask ordinance, the fact that they brought cameras to the event, and the fact that the group cheered on the arrested folks — these facts suggest that the group knew the potential consequences.

Wilson commented in a July 15 podcast that requiring citizens to wear masks is like requiring people to wear propeller hats in public. Such a nonsequiter obscures the fact that propeller hats do not prevent virus droplets from spreading, while masks do.

When the group arrived around 4:40 p.m. (having planned the event on Facebook), police informed Wilson that everyone must wear face masks or maintain 6 feet distance between family groups, lest they receive citations. Wilson informed the congregation of the directive, and told people to stand on the helpfully laid out colored dots.

The group brought video cameras, with church member Daniel Foucachon filming the encounters (on Facebook), standing close to the police as they asked to step away. About 10 minutes after Gabriel Rench’s arrest, police informed local teachers Sean and Rachel Bohnet that they were violating the order and that they would be arrested. As the police escorted the two away, the crowd cheered and clapped for the Bohnets.

One cannot claim immunity from punishment when one willingly and knowingly engages in an activity that one knows may meet with reprimand. After the arrests, members began shouting at and harassing police. If anything, the headline should read: heroic cops remain calm under pressure during antagonistic psalm-sing. But that wouldn’t fit the persecution narrative of innocent Christian martyrs, would it?

Andy Johnson

Pullman

A note from Jesus

Dear Gabriel,You appear to have forgotten my teachings on humility and universal love. See you on judgment day! Your Saviour, Jesus.

Jay Feldman

Moscow