Readers Write: Election results, Trump's behavior, alligator killed in Minnesota, Armistice Day

I was staying with the writer of "Neither brave nor persuasive" (Readers Write, Nov. 9) until the end. Then it came down to advice to "reach out to the reachable Trump voter, the soft-core racist" or that those who vote for Trump are "compelled to do so through racist, sexist or xenophobic beliefs" and the writer lost me.

How is it that a voter for President Donald Trump can't just disagree on policy? Maybe, just maybe, they saw it as a vote on policy and not a vote for Miss Congeniality. The Trump administration: brokered historic Mideast peace deals, did not start or expand a war, cut taxes, created the lowest unemployment rate ever for Black people and Latinos, forced NATO allies to pay more of what they promised, took border security seriously, made major inroads in criminal justice reform, used Operation Warp Speed to get multiple vaccine programs fast-tracked and brought hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs back.

So calling out the over 70 million people who voted for him (the second-highest of all time) as racist, sexist or xenophobic at worst and soft-core racist at their best seems to be offensive. Those Trump voters are the people we work with — they are our neighbors, they go to our churches and they are probably in our families. So let's do what we typically do after elections and get back to our regular lives and treat each other with some respect.

Worth noting: 70 million-plus disappointed Americans and not a single city is on fire. No broken glass. No riots. No spitting on cops. No frantic breakdowns. No safe spaces. Anyone want to tell me what the difference is?

It comes as no surprise that Trump is not gracious in defeat. He hasn't been gracious in victory. For years he has continued to foment anger about Hillary Clinton, with chants of "lock her up" ever on the tips of the tongues of his supporters. Trump could not abide that Clinton had won the 2016 popular vote.

What would be a surprise? If Trump would truly put his country first by aiding in a smooth transition for the Joe Biden administration. By doing so, Trump could demonstrate that his flag-hugging wasn't just an empty showman's stunt.

Dear Mr. Trump:

The plywood is coming down, but store owners are likely celebrating in the same way as if they had just made an extortion payment to the protection rackets. The reason the feeling of relief is only temporary is that, despite Biden's call for reconciliation, elements in his party have not sated their thirst to inflict more pain.

Take, for instance, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. In true cancel-culture fashion, she is demanding that anyone who supported or was associated with Trump be blackballed from ever working again. Michelle Obama fans these same flames by chiding the tens of millions of people voted for Trump as "supporting lies, hate, chaos, and division." Other Democrats are even calling for a "truth and reconciliation commission" to investigate people's involvement with Trump's administration.

It's good that the plywood has come down from the storefronts, but it looks like there will still be a need to keep it on hand.

I applaud the decision to place the Nov. 10 letter "Give Biden support denied Trump" immediately after two letters referring to the bubble in which MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell lives. Clearly that writer also lives in an information-deprived bubble. Please allow me to catch him up on what he's missed over the past few years.

Several investigations conducted by the Justice Department into the FBI's investigation of President Donald Trump's aides concluded that there certainly was probable cause to launch those investigations. Oh, and by the way, quite a number of those aides were convicted of crimes.

"I would like you to do us a favor, though ..." sure sounds like Trump was asking for something in return for the weapons desperately needed by the Ukrainians. This definitely warranted some sort of investigation. The U.S. House, as part of one of the coequal branches of government, did its job in investigating a whistleblower's complaint and presenting this case to the Senate in the form of articles of impeachment.

Finally, not only are there allegations of sexual misconduct by Trump but audio recordings of our current president admitting to assaulting women. Although there is much more, I'll leave it at that.

I was very disappointed to read the story of the deer hunter who found an abandoned young alligator and got direction from the Department of Natural Resources to kill it because it is not a protected species ("Where the deer and the alligator play," Nov. 10). I'd like to know at what level of the DNR the approval to kill it came from. Is this an official DNR policy? The DNR could have easily facilitated getting this reptile to a group that would have humanely resolved the issue. I'm also disappointed in the hunter; he could have found a better solution on his own.

There are plenty of nonlethal solutions to this problem, including making it illegal to sell wild animals, as well as finding a rescue group to take the animal/reptile (they exist, I checked). The DNR seems to have a "shoot first, ask questions later" orientation. Reminds me of the pair of hawks the DNR killed back in 2009, and of the wayward cougars that have been killed because they were passing through the wrong area trying to find a place to mate and survive. Maybe the DNR should be renamed the Department of Natural Resources and Select Animals Deemed Deserving of Protection Because Hunters Want To Be Able To Kill Them (DNR-SADDPBHWTBATKT).

I realize that we are facing much larger problems that need to be dealt with, but as far as I know the DNR is not as distracted by the pandemic as other state agencies, so it could work on this.

Please join Veterans For Peace as we "Reclaim Armistice Day" to its history of being a day dedicated to peace and ending the scourge of war.