Use of pepper spray on peaceful protesters and kids in Graham was appalling

Graham march

When I watched footage of what happened in Alamance County, I was absolutely appalled and disgusted. In broad daylight, law enforcement officers pepper-sprayed peaceful protesters on their way to vote.

They sprayed children in Halloween costumes. They sprayed elderly folks. They hovered their drones over a nearby polling station. There aren’t many ways to read that other than government-sponsored intimidation and voter suppression.

As an Air Force veteran, I know that pepper spray is outlawed for use in the military by the Chemical Weapons Convention, which allowed limited use in law enforcement for “riot control.” There was no riot in Graham. The only violence was that of the police against unarmed civilians.

Heather Murphy, Cary

Intimidation

On Oct. 30, two banners at Binkley Baptist Church were torched. One said “Black Lives Matter,” the other said “Vote.” The next morning voters on a peaceful march to the polls in Graham were pepper-sprayed. Both are clear cases of unlawful intimidation against those exercising their constitutional right to express their views.

I’ve heard not a word of condemnation from the White House. We cannot expect a call for “law and order,” or for respect for our Constitutional liberties, from a man who practices neither.

To his credit, the governor declared the Graham incident “unacceptable,” but most N.C. legislators have remained silent.

We did not send our troops to fight for democracy abroad only to see it attacked here at home. We must demand, with our votes and our voices, that democracy and our constitutional rights be restored.

Vicki Ryder, Durham

Voter suppression

The nationwide, Republican campaign to restrict the counting of votes is a well-organized attack on the foundation of our democratic society.

Attempts to stop the counting of ballots mailed by Election Day grow out of a wider campaign to restrict voting rights, but they are inconsistent with long-established government policies.

Millions of Americans have traditionally mailed their annual tax payments by the April 15 due date. These clearly postmarked envelopes arrive several days later, but are never “disqualified” or ruled “illegal” because they reached a government office after the due date.

We can recognize the patterns of anti-democratic strategies in North Carolina from the history of vote-denying, Jim Crow laws, yet the systematic efforts to reduce or deny voting rights never end.

Lloyd Kramer, Chapel Hill

Unite us again

There are times in life that call for putting aside differences and joining together in support of a bigger goal. Countries do it in war — Russia and the U.S. in WWII. Athletes do it in sports — all-star competitions, the Olympics.

The 1969 Miracle Mets captured the hearts of Yankee fans and brought the City of New York together. It can be done!

That’s what our country needs now: We need to put aside our political differences and elect a person who will do his very best to unite us again.

James Pagett, Pittsboro

Court imbalance

The vote to confirm Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court was an obvious party-line vote, just like the vote to dismiss the impeachment charges.

With the misguided motive to declare their loyalty to President Trump and Mitch McConnell, these senators chose a self-destructive path that could end their Senate careers. When the Senate reconvenes in January, some of them won’t be present.

We should not be surprised that measures will be taken in a newly constituted Senate to address the current ideological imbalance in the court. President Trump is responsible for this shift to the radical right, and it will hopefully be addressed by a new president and a new Senate.

Thomas K. Spence, Jr., Sanford

Poll workers

Wake County’s early voting poll workers deserve praise for braving 17 days of coming face-to-face with multitudes of people who wanted to be certain their votes counted. They assisted voters while armored up in PPE to protect everybody. We should be so proud of these brave souls who demonstrated that our democracy still works.

Marion Boissière, Raleigh

This story was originally published November 2, 2020 at 3:50 PM with the headline "Use of pepper spray on peaceful protesters and kids in Graham was appalling."