Opinion editor’s note: Star Tribune Opinion publishes letters from readers online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.
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Kudos to Little Roos and its owner in Chaska for going ahead and hosting a story hour presented by drag performer Dobbs DeCorsey (“Drag queen reads to cheers, few jeers,” July 9). A viral TikTok of an outraged person did not deter their plans!
I have to say, my feeling about this event is not one of fear or anger that children are being read to, or “groomed” by someone in drag. I am more concerned of the presence of the Proud Boys at this event in our state. This group is classified as a hate group, though a member said its presence was not one of hate! Interesting if you know anything at all about this white nationalist group. Go to the website of the Southern Poverty Law Center and catch up on the many agendas of this group.
The Proud Boys and person in the outraged TikTok video are concerned about the children — while not researching the statistics or facts on how many children are abused or harmed by drag queens or trans people. In fact, if they researched this, they’d learn the outcome is quite the opposite of what they expect.
My advice to the people who don’t care for this or any other public function: Don’t go! It’s your choice to not attend; none of us needs your opinion on it! Just stay in your lane.
Remember, hate is a learned emotion. We see you.
Rocky Olson, Minneapolis
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The majority of the Proud Boys who protested outside of Little Roos’ drag queen story time were wearing face coverings. I find it ironic that the Proud Boys were either too embarrassed or too afraid to show their faces as they shouted their protests.
Mary Riley, Chaska
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Reading to a child is an act of love. In lieu of protesting Miz Diagnosis, the drag queen who recently read to families at Little Roos boutique in Chaska, the members of the Proud Boys could channel their energy into more meaningful work and go home to read to their own children.
Sarah Brookner, Minneapolis
POLARIZATION
I have been an avid reader of the Star Tribune most of my life, but I have to say I was disappointed in the Sunday article “Americans on move, along political lines,” which did nothing to advance the ideal of the left and right political poles coming together. I looked for statistics that back up the premise that there is somehow a great migration of liberals to blue states and conservatives to red ones but found none. I found anecdotal evidence.
More concerning are the photos chosen. While Leah Dean has every right to her opinion and choices, a broad smile while wearing an “I had an abortion” T-shirt is the kind of in-your-face political speech that is not helpful to the discussion, especially to those who favor reproductive freedom but see it as a nuanced, difficult decision women should have the right to make for themselves. I doubt her sentiment is shared by very many women who have had to make that difficult choice and who now have government injecting itself into a very private decision. The photo was obviously chosen for shock value, which is not responsible journalism.
Both the left and right have some opinions that are extreme, but if we are ever to come together to build a stronger nation, we need to tone down the divisiveness, listen to each other and make responsible decisions for the common good. An article on how divergent opinions are discussed respectfully may not garner headlines but would do much to open conversation aimed at finding common ground.
Paula Swiggum, Eagan
CHARITABLE GIVING
In discussing the history of the Minnesota Five Percent Club, under which local companies have committed to donate up to 5% of their pretax earnings to charity, the Curious Minnesota report on July 9 (“Does state still lead in corporate giving?”) makes a glaring omission. There is no mention of a key role in this philanthropic effort (now known as the Minnesota Keystone Program) that was played by Curtis L. Carlson, the prominent Minnesota entrepreneur and founder of what is now Carlson.
As owner, Carlson in 1959 began contributing 5% of his company’s annual pretax earnings to charity. Town & Country Magazine, in its December 1987 report on Carlson receiving the 1987 national Generous American Award, stated that Carlson together with Wayne Thompson, senior vice president of the Dayton’s department store chain, were the two people involved in a mid-1960s corporate philanthropy conversation with President Lyndon Johnson that “planted the seeds of what subsequently became the Minnesota 5 Percent Club.”
That magazine report also stated: “In 1976, Carlson became a founding member and leading promoter of the club, which, with his evangelistic help, soon became the nation’s most successful business-philanthropy organization.” The report further stated that Carlson “became an unsurpassed master at the art of leveraging his corporate and personal gifts to many times their value by using them to pry similar gifts from others.” The University of Minnesota is one such major beneficiary of his generosity.
In giving appropriate corporate philanthropic credit to the Dayton family, it would also be fitting to give such credit to Curtis L. Carlson (whose family continues to this day to be community philanthropic leaders).
Larry Chiat, Golden Valley
COMPOST
In a heroic effort to deliver compostable material to her municipality, columnist Laura Yuen battled squirrels, raccoons and a regiment of maggots (“When bandits hit compost bins,” July 9). But had she dedicated her rinds, grounds and other kitchen waste to a backyard compost bin, she would have participated in a far simpler process: how nature effortlessly takes its course — at home — to create much-needed, rich soil for the garden.
Instead, in true Rube Goldberg problem-solving mode, we received detailed advice on the care and feeding of Yuen’s new compost cart (attributed to the “experts”) and how to outsmart nature’s ravenous intruders. My favorite tip: Uncover the teeming maggot hideaway, an invitation to the local swarm of birds. Then watch the massacre of the wriggling masses. For squirrels (who detest spicy meals), spray a cayenne pepper solution inside the cart. And those crafty raccoons: Defeat the rascals by spraying your entire cart with ammonia.
Oh, and here’s Yuen’s big game-changer: Freeze your organic waste before dropping them into the cart to catch the morning pick-up. No slimy mess, no maggots.
Follow these many steps: the rigors and dedication of curbside, citywide composting. Or, you could hike to the backyard, place compost in the bin, cover it … and go to bed.
Steve Watson, Minneapolis
The letter writer is former director of Minneapolis’ Compost Project (1993-95), a jobs program for youth delivering compost bins to the backyards of Minneapolis residents and gardeners.
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