Readers react to student's protest at William Floyd

Maverick Stow’s incessant disregard for the rules at William Floyd High School, to me, is a fine example of why we have more than 190,000 deaths and a still-uncontrolled pandemic in this country. Rather than follow science and the guidelines of health and educational professionals, he decided that his personal freedom trumps (pun intended) those of the other nearly 9,000 students and faculty. And his mother supports him. After all the country has gone through, right before his eyes, he has that little regard for fellow students?

Phil Cicciari,

Port Washington

I found the story on the senior who showed up in protest at school sickening. It epitomized exactly what’s wrong with this nation: selfishness. We are in a pandemic. Who is he to force himself into school five days a week, saying it’s what makes education work? Of course it does. But it’s something that we all have to adjust to for the better of everyone. What about the teachers who have health issues or their families?

Another example is people who don’t wear masks. They are not patriotic and are selfish. One could give the disease to someone without knowing it. To me, this student seems to think he’s some kind of hero. Unfortunately, I see a lot of young Americans who don’t like to hear the word "no." Patriotism is caring about your fellow countrymen. Even if it doesn’t affect you, you care about someone besides yourself.

Regina Thornton,

Sayville

A young man has been striving to have the William Floyd school district adopt in-person learning full time. The young man, aptly named Maverick Stow, reported to school each day in violation of district policy. This conflict between the two parties was ratcheted up when a district spokesman stated, "If Mr. Stow continues to try to access school grounds each day that we are open, we will close the high school — and its approximately 3,000 students — to all in-person learning and it will be all virtual for the foreseeable future." I view the remark as childish, immature and speaking volumes about the lack of positive leadership by the district administration. The district residents deserve better, and so does Stow.

Bob Kersch,

Great River

Editor’s note: The writer, who retired in 1991 as assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction for the Lindenhurst School District, was a consultant to Western Suffolk BOCES.

9/11 observance shows a change in us

Watching the 9/11 ceremony on television this year — as I have done every year since that fateful day — I was struck by the difference in the ensuing days.

Back then: Americans, especially we New Yorkers, bonded as one. Those who never displayed the American flag did so with pride. We put aside our differences, because now we had one vision, to show our combined strength and pride in our country. No outside force would destroy us. We mourned together; we celebrated our traditions together. We were united.

Now: We are a nation divided. Violence and destruction from within our nation’s borders have become the norm and we are afraid. We are failing as a country because we have lost sight of who we are, the United States of America. We must put "united" back into our vision if we are to overcome the tragedy that has now befallen us. And this tragedy is not from a terrorist attack on our institutions. It’s a vision of "me," not "us." As we reflect back on Sept. 11, 2001, it’s time to remember what brought us together, not what currently tears us apart.

Mindy Wolfle,

Long Beach

Shame on Major League Baseball and especially the New York baseball teams for wearing NYPD hats on Sept. 11. It was just a few weeks ago that the Mets walked off the field and left a BLM T-shirt on home plate. It was a few weeks ago that they wore apparel supporting Black Lives Matter, which has extremely negative views of the police. But on this solemn day, all of a sudden, they support the men who ran into two buildings to save lives, all lives, because, to them, all lives did matter. I think the police deserve the respect the players showed them on Sept. 11 every day. They should stop being so hypocritical, political and pandering to whoever meets their needs on any given day. If the police are heroes worthy of your respect and honor on Sept. 11, they are worthy of it every day.

Tim Gallagher,

Seaford

I could not wait to see the return of pro football, Houston v. Kansas City. Our introduction to the game was the refusal of Houston’s team to respect the national anthem, staying in its dressing room. To me, the team decided to turn its back on the people who fought wars to preserve democracy and to allow these players to earn millions of dollars. I turned the game off and would try again Sunday. My New York teams, the Jets and Bills, would be different, I thought. What a disgrace! Both teams refused to come out and stand for the anthem . If they can protest like this, I must protest their actions by boycotting pro football. I turned the game off. I will miss football this year.

Jack Somma,

Islip Terrace