Letters to the editor Nov. 21

Ignorant letters on Zinke’s legislation

This letter is in response to two recent letters to the editor regarding Rep. Ryan Zinke’s proposed legisation seeking to block Palestinians from the U.S.

I would like to remind the de Korts and Ms. Barbara Palmer about the response of the general Palestinian population to the event that took place in multiple locations in the United States, where basically 3,000 innocent people were brutally murdered in all different grotesque ways. The Palestinians and a majority of the Muslim population, celebrated in the streets to the mass murder and slaughter of the people in the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and on United Flight 93 on Sept. 11, 2001. And they continue to celebrate every 9/11. 

I suggest you read the book by the son of the man who started Hamas, Mosab Hassan Yousef. The book is called “The Son of Hamas” where he explains that the modern Muslim world has become terribly radicalized and has destroyed the Muslim faith/religion of Islam and how regular non Hamas Palestinians hate Americans. It’s not just Hamas.  

May I also suggest that you watch the documentary on PBS about the history of the Jewish people. It seems you are the “ignorant” ones who don’t know your history. Muslims and Jews flourished together for years and years, and it wasn’t until the 1920s when the British appointed a Grand Mufti that tensions began. 

The tensions have come to a point that they can’t be dealt with in a calm and rational way, hence, for the safety of the citizens of the United States, our government leaders need to take some pretty strong measures to keep us and our country safe. Our borders have recently become trouble zones and many people that are of a radical nature have flowed into our country unnoticed. 

And may I also note that you have some nerve on these days of honoring our vets for Veterans Day, calling a veteran who fought for your freedom — ignorant. 

We need someone with some guts in our government right now who isn’t afraid to make some bold moves. 

— Marion McCleary, Kalispell

Diversity, equity and inclusion

DEI, an attempt to correct society’s ills through “diversity, equity and inclusion” is anything but — it could more rightly be known as “divide, exclude and incite.” 

Across the U.S., job searches for DEI officials have decreased by 75%, for this check-the-box approach to having a program in place to demonstrate allegiance to those who supply, direct and guide ... your funding.  

Does DEI help anyone? According to a survey by WebMD, “62% of workers surveyed say Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (DEI&B) programs aren’t effective, and nearly half (46%) say the programs had failed them personally.”  

HRD (Human Resources Director), claims “Diversity fatigue is on the rise”; and “Roughly 60% of diversity officers at S&P 500 companies left their positions between 2018 and 2021.”

It does not even appear to be truly race-based, but anti-achievement; hence the trial and subsequent victory for very well qualified Asian students who sued Harvard University because they were excluded from admission. 

Apparently world turmoil is not enough, DEI is causing chaos from within.

So, until DEI is rebranded and trotted out again under a new name, it appears that DEI is DOA.   

— Linda Lien, Billings