I am Spartacus
I was in the military. I would like to address my brothers and sisters in the military.
In case you don’t know, President Donald Trump is kicking transgender service members out of the military.
Have you ever seen the movie Spartacus? When the Romans came looking for Spartacus to arrest him and asked “Where is Spartacus,” his fellow soldiers stood up one at a time and said “I am Spartacus,” “I am Spartacus,” “I am Spartacus” until all of them were standing up.
I have two questions for you. Who is he going to kick out next? Women? Black people? Latino people? Homosexuals? Naturalized citizens? People of political parties he doesn’t like? Non-Christians?
Now that Trump is kicking out your fellow members of the military who have served faithfully and bravely next to you, for no other reason than that they are transgender, I want to ask, “What are you going to do?” Are you going to sit quietly by and let him get away with this discrimination or are you going to stand up and do something?
I think it would be great if about 80% of the military members around the world went to their commanding officers and said, “I am transgender.” You know that the only way to deal with a bully is to band together and stand up to him or he will be coming for you next.
Neva Beierle, Hampton
Monument
Re “Restoration of Confederate monument to cost $10M” (Page 4, Aug. 8): Being a proud, lifelong Virginian having a serious interest in preserving our heritage, I think I have the solution to this dilemma of what to do about Sir Moses Ezekiel’s world-class, but apparently controversial, sculpture being returned to Arlington National Cemetery.
The permanent solution is to have the entire monument mounted on a U.S. Army “lowboy” transport trailer. These pieces of standard U.S. Army equipment are designed to easily accommodate a 70-ton M1 Abrams tank.
Every four years, as the Virginia governorship seesaws back and forth between parties, the stone sculpture can either be parked in Arlington or be hooked up to the appropriate tractor unit and towed around the commonwealth traveling as a mobile history exhibit.
And, maybe, even some other states would pay big bucks to host it and the whole operation would become self-supporting.
Albert P. Burckard Jr., Carrollton
Liz Richardson
It is time for Liz Richardson to be a fresh and powerful voice to represent District 100 in the Virginia House of Delegates. District 100 includes all of Virginia’s Eastern Shore and a section of Virginia Beach.
A farmer’s advocate raised on the Shore, Richardson knows the people, the land and the waters. However, to best represent her constituents, she is listening to them. At her recent kickoff meeting, she asked the hundreds of attendees to form small groups and identify local issues. Health care, affordable housing, education, jobs and the environment were among those reported. Gathering such information is her practice when Richardson meets with constituents on both sides of the Chesapeake Bay.
In contrast, her opponent says he doesn’t need to hold town halls, that he talks to his constituents all the time. Some say he’s a nice guy, but electing a representative should be based on more than pleasantries and hand-shake impressions. I base my vote on his voting record, which reflects, for example, that he voted against bills supporting women’s health and safety and common-sense gun safety, which are both important to me.
Richardson is running a grassroots campaign, with plenty of opportunities for citizens to meet her and no corporate donations. She’s clearly listened to my concerns. I plan to vote for Richardson.
Melody Copper, Machipongo
