Letter: Liam Neeson was right to talk about racism

Neeson was telling dangers of racism

Actor Liam Neeson admitted he felt rage and wanted revenge against a random black person after a friend was raped by a black man [“Neeson admits he wanted to kill after friend was raped,” Flash!, Feb. 5]. He realized his feelings were wrong after discussion with his priest and some friends and has apologized.

Why is he being criticized? He didn’t follow through, and he made his statement voluntarily as a warning to others that racism is wrong.

Until we treat everyone as individuals and not automatically as part of a separate race or class, we will never have peace in this country. Collective guilt on the part of the left or right is a sign of a primitive society; we seem to be reverting to this idea.

Anthony Coscia,Bellmore

Referendum on the wall is a bad idea

A reader’s suggestion that we should use Election Day to vote on whether the government should build a border wall seems on the surface to be a logical solution to the inability of our Congress and the president to agree [“Hold a national vote to settle wall question,” Letters, Feb. 7].

However, while some referendums are warranted, this one is not a matter for the populace to decide. It is the president’s responsibility to protect the American people. He must do everything within his power to fulfill that obligation. Congress must agree to a solution to the border problem that includes a barrier. If not, then the president will have to use other means to ensure the safety of the American people.

Lawrence J. Beufve,Lindenhurst

With all due respect to the reader who suggested holding a national vote to settle the wall question, I’d like to point out that we did that already. It was called the 2016 presidential election.

Kevin Harrington,Medford

As an attorney, I often represent children in Family Court who entered the country illegally. Many are teenagers who fled desperate situations in their home countries that would have caused anyone, including those who loudly condemn such immigrants, to seek refuge wherever possible.

These young people want to work to build lives. They ought to be the backbone of this country, and will be if given a chance. They are by and large the salt of the earth and grateful for the promise of America.

It is a disgrace and deeply immoral that they are made to live in the shadows. There ought to be a program that makes such immigrants eligible for citizenship if they provide two years of national service in the armed forces, Peace Corps or some simlar organization.

Howard E. Sayetta,Syosset

I propose two steps to solve the border wall and illegal immigration problem from Central America:

First, build a wall between Mexico and Guatemala and have Central American and Mexicans laborers build it. Funding would be shared by the United States and Mexico.

Second, strictly enforce E-Verify, the government’s system for telling employers whether a person is eligible to work. That will deter people coming north if they understand that jobs will not be available to them unless they cross the border legally with valid work visas.

Peter Hanson,Nesconset

Two perspectives of assessment mess

It appears that some elected officials are gleeflully pointing out errors by Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, a Democrat, in the reassessment debacle while documenting their attempts to keep her from these pitfalls [“Receivers hit back,” News, Feb. 9]. It does occur to me as rather odd that Republican legislators rarely questioned then-Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano’s handling of tax assessments, nor other questionable actions for which he is on trial.

Hempstead Receiver of Taxes Donald Clavin, a Republican, sent out a glossy mailer decrying the current administration’s tax reassessment plan. Legis. John Ferretti (R-Levittown) sends frequent emails complaining about Curran.

Shouldn’t our elected officials spend time working together for the good of the people? Partisan politics as demonstrated so graphically at the federal level is counterproductive to what government is supposed to do. It should not be the model for how we run our county.

Remember the quote from Eldridge Cleaver: “You either have to be part of the solution, or you’re going to be part of the problem.”

Kristin Keane,Levittown

I know what Hempstead Tax Receiver Donald Clavin meant when he said that Nassau County Executive Laura Curran “should actually have people answer the phones in the assessment department and actually have the courtesy to respond to the people looking for help. We reached out on several occasions yesterday and couldn’t even get the courtesy of a return phone call” [“ ‘Incorrect’ claims,” News, Feb. 8].

I had a similar experience. I posted a question to the assessor online on Dec. 21 about when the 2020-21 assessment roll would become final. I still have not received an answer, even though the website said a response would be forthcoming as soon as possible.

Richard Siegelman,Plainview