Just Sayin': Jackie Robinson and democracy

Robinson and democracy

I love baseball, and I loved teaching. Watching tributes to Jackie Robinson on April 15 reminded me of my fifth-grade September lessons at John S. Hobart Elementary School in Shirley.

Together, we read the novel “In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson” by Bette Bao Lord. The novel is about an 11-year-old Chinese girl whose family moves to Brooklyn in 1947. Shirley and her family were learning to adjust to a new home and life. They felt compassion when Shirley got lost on the way home from the grocery store or was mocked in school.

Shirley comes to love America and baseball, especially the Brooklyn Dodgers and the fans’ new hero, Jackie Robinson.

In class, we discussed how baseball and democracy have much in common. In baseball, each player is a member of a team, but when he comes to bat, he stands alone. No matter how far behind, how late in the game, he, by himself, can make a difference. He can change what has been and make it a new ball game.

In our country, we learned, we are citizens on Team USA. “No matter what gender, race, or religion, you can make a difference,” Lord wrote. “To change what has been and make a new and better America.”

Robinson stood for himself, for Americans of every color, for an America that honors fair play. So, in today’s Yankees and Mets games, we’ll see which players might make the difference.

Linda Versandi, Shirley

What is learned when speakers are banned?

How can students be educated if they are not exposed to different ideas and opinions?

When guest speakers and others at universities are not allowed to speak and are threatened with violence because they have a different point of view (eliminating their First Amendment right of free speech), what are the students learning?

I guess one could say they are learning this: If you do not agree with my views, you are not allowed to express your opinion. And if you do try to express it, there will be consequences.

This is happening more and more in our country today, not only in universities but on social media and in other public places.

We need to return to an America where differences of opinion are not only allowed but encouraged.

— Delores Childs, Garden City

Seniors in need of affordable housing

Does anybody wonder why the same apartments are being offered every week without being rented? It’s because they have been priced out of the market. Seniors, especially, need affordable housing.

Property management companies seem to be either building on or buying most of the available areas on Long Island.

Try to find a two-bedroom apartment for under $2,500 — and that doesn’t usually include utilities. Seniors have to look hard to find a place to live.

I am not talking about seniors with government vouchers but those, like me at age 71, who need a place for under $2,000, including utilities and possibly storage space. Doesn’t anyone want to help seniors?

— Rochelle Davidson, Brentwood

HOV violators flaunt disregard for laws

The Long Island Expressway HOV lane is out of control. I have watched drivers cross over the double solid line to pass a slower driver in the lane and then cross over back into the HOV lane. I have also observed drivers traveling with mannequins in the passenger seat, showing no regard for the law.

— Joe Walters, New Hyde Park

It’s getting harder to buy what we need

I wanted to purchase a bottle of body wash at a local pharmacy. The bottle was locked in a cabinet.

I had to summon an employee, who then had to phone someone with a key.

It appears we are punishing customers because of a few bad apples. Customers come first. Let’s get our priorities straight.

— Aurora Forte, Smithtown