Those protesting against vaccines for hospital employees don’t have a leg to stand on

Requiring vaccines

Those protesting outside Duke University Hospital on Friday about requiring the vaccine for hospital employees do not have a leg to stand on. No one has a God-given right to their job. If the requirements for the job change and you are unwilling to meet them, the solution is clear — leave. This is particularly true when meeting the vaccine requirement is easy, safe, and good for you and others.

There are plenty of other jobs that do not require vaccination. For those always carrying on about “freedoms,” here’s your chance. You are free to remain unvaccinated — no matter how uninformed that decision is — but you are not free from the consequences.

Peter Aitken, Chapel Hill

Raleigh elections

Regarding “Raleigh’s switch to even-year elections is a common change that will engage more voters,” (July 29 Opinion):

The change in Raleigh’s election date is not just about turnout and cost. It is about keeping elected officials in office for more than a year longer than the term they were elected for and eight months longer than necessary to deal with the census delay.

But the injustice does not stop there. The mayor and council members will be elected by plurality, a fact that neither the media nor op-ed writer Gerry Cohen has acknowledged.

The true cost of moving the election is the loss of the democratic process. The citizens of Raleigh deserve the right to live in a city that represents them. Remember the expression: Government of the people, by the people, and for the people? This has been forgotten by local and state elected officials. Moving the elections, without any citizen input, just kicks the can further down the road with the voters of Raleigh still standing on the curb, waiting to have their voices heard.

Larry Helfant, Raleigh

Masks in school

I’m concerned about Johnston County’s decision to make masks optional in schools, especially with the CDC’s recommendation that masks be mandated in schools for students and staff regardless of vaccination status. That recommendation was based on new data showing the delta variant can infect and be transmitted by vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. This, coupled with Johnston County’s rise in COVID cases, makes Johnston County’s decision irresponsible and dangerous.

Since children under 12 will not be vaccinated when schools open, I urge the superintendent and school board to issue a mask mandate.

Lindsay McDavid, Clayton

Progressives

I was pleased to read Ned Barnett’s July 27 analysis of Durham’s political situation because it really sheds light on a problem that so-called progressives, and in particular, white progressives, have failed to address — they’re committing the same old error of talking the talk without walking the walk.

I second former Sen. Floyd McKissick’s point. Meaning well doesn’t solve problems if you’re drowning out the voices you claim to support.

Although I applaud the gains made in the Triangle since the adoption of a more progressive agenda, I lament seeing progressives silencing voices over anything that does not rigidly conform to their ideology. Our communities need a profound reckoning with this sad fact if we are serious about doing more than talking the talk.

Judith Gamboa, Chapel Hill

Mental health

In reporting about Simone Biles’ withdrawal from Olympic competitions, some journalists said, “There is no injury.” I suspect they mean, “no visible, physical injury.” But there is an injury. Strain to mental health is injurious. It may not carry the names like torn ACL, high ankle sprain, or concussion, but there has been injury. When will we recognize the health and well-being of the whole person?

Biles, Naomi Osaka, and Michael Phelps are examples of athletes with the courage to share their stories to raise awareness of mental health concerns. Let us embrace this invitation and open our eyes to what is around us all — injurious mental health crises. N.C. health systems have recognized this and are pleading for help. Children’s Hospital Colorado recently declared a “state of emergency” for youth mental health.

So, let us look again, with a lens that sees, understands, cares for, and supports the whole person, mind and body as one.

Jennifer Lawson, Durham