To the editor

Response to family safety guest opinion

I was interested to read the opinions expressed in “Las Cruces isn't safe for families anymore.”

There are other reactions one may have:

·       the world has always been a dangerous place, and it seems to be escalating everywhere, especially in the USA

·       we have each been born with abilities, liabilities and disabilities

·       my Dear Father about said it right, in this world "...we're all doing the best we can...."

·       I've never felt threatened in Las Cruces, something I like to do is give them a prepaid gift card for a nearby fast-food place. You can get them at grocery stores and pharmacies.  $10-15 to eat.  And/or give them a notecard with the address of El Caldito Soup Kitchen 999 W. Amador Ave. Bldg. 3, Las Cruces, and also the address of a shelter of your preference in Las Cruces where they may find refuge.  

This is a situation of humankind, probably as far back as Neolithic times because humankind is working on things.

I wish that Ms. Smith would read the book and see the movie Bound for Glory by Woody Guthrie. He sang about how "This land is your land; this land is my land...." 

No one the whole story knows for each of us.

Thank you for sharing your opinion.

Jeanne K. Windsor, MD, MPH

Las Cruces

Trucks in Silver City

We see from where we stand, as the adage goes. I wonder how many residents standing or driving around town have noticed the marked increase in the number of 18-wheelers carrying loads of metal bollards south.

Some may query: where are these trucks going? Where have they come from? And what are they building? The answers are: the 30’ bollards are building the US-Mexico border wall. And they are being manufactured by Silver City’s own Runyan Construction to the tune of $43.9 million.

We are a diverse community with opinions that span the political spectrum.  These opinions stem from where we stand. Some will see the bollards with patriotic pride, our local effort to “keep America safe.” Others will be furious at the expense to taxpayers while human service programs are being slashed, not to mention our streets and highways being torn up by the weighty loads.

Others will grieve knowing that this wall separates them from their loved ones; still others are grateful for the hefty salaries they are pulling down in this enterprise of border enforcement.

It should be noted that history shows no substantial evidence that a wall has ever effectively prevented people from going anywhere. What wall would keep any one of us from uniting with family, or escaping violence, or dire poverty? Let’s call it what it is, a cash cow for the military-industrial complex.

Given that a fall from 30 feet is often lethal, I call it a crime against humanity.

John Heid

Silver City