Snark's unnecessary
While the editorial writer in Tuesday's edition apparently had a different take on the incorporation of Little Italy than the residents proposing it, I found the tone unnecessarily snarky and condescending. One can disagree with the idea of incorporation without attacking the group simply wanting to protect its heritage.
Protecting the watershed for Little Rock is definitely a priority for all of us. However, given the recent developments in west Little Rock, I would trust Little Italy with the 5,600-acre watershed more than I might trust the city.
Lastly, the comment of having history with a side of spaghetti and meatballs was totally offensive, especially since spaghetti and meatballs is not an authentic Italian dish.
Next time you read or write for a newspaper, wear blue jeans, do banking, listen to or play a piano, listen to the radio, or use a telephone, you can thank the Italians. They originated all of these.
KAREN DiPIPPA
Little Rock
Biased piece of work
I read an editorial that was extremely hard to read Tuesday morning. My family helped establish Little Italy, and all those people work hard, as do I, to continue their traditions as best we can. You have no idea the hardships these people went through.
To publish such a biased piece that so clearly details which side your "reporter" is on is disgusting. Anyone reading this will have this horrible taste in their mouth about this community from here on out, considering the community had been called many slandering names. Nothing anyone is trying to do is "corrupt," and no harm has been done, I believe, until this editorial ran.
I think it's time my family, maybe everyone in my family, should cancel our subscriptions from here on out. I don't want to support a business that can't support a small community that has been here for 100 years!
KRISTIN CIA-JACQUES
Maumelle
Undermined morals
According to the Democrat-Gazette, the late Hugh Hefner responded to a question in 1992 asked by the New York Times in regard to what Mr. Hefner took the greatest pride in having done.
"That I changed attitudes toward sex," he said. "That nice people can live together now. That I decontaminated the notion of premarital sex. That gives me great satisfaction."
What Mr. Hefner took his great pride in doing is, in the view of many, undermining the necessary moral structure of our nation.
If some believe that this is a prudish view, there are others who have an uneasy feeling about the direction in which we are hurtling.
FRED SAWYER
Little Rock
Our quiet cry for help
College students are dying. A silent plague has been taking student lives for years, yet nobody talks about it. The plague? Depression. To save the lives of our youth, universities must raise awareness on depression and change the fact that many students feel alone in their struggles.
According to an American Psychological Association survey, one-third of college students experience some degree of depression. There are some who say depression isn't a big deal, or that it doesn't exist, but research conducted at Emory University begs to differ. Over 1,000 students commit suicide on college campuses each year.
For someone with depression, basic tasks can become burdens. Getting out of bed takes an inordinate amount of energy. Eating and drinking water turn into annoyances which apathy makes hard to overcome. For the most part, a depressed person feels hopelessly alone in their sadness, even though many of their peers endure the same struggles. I say this not as a bystander, but as someone who has dealt with depression for years.
Depression is a beast that many college students feel they face alone. A simple "how are you?" can show a student that someone has noticed them, that someone cares about them. While small deeds like asking a student if they're okay may seem insignificant, they add up to giving students a sense of belonging in a community that cares about them. After all, college students are our future. Is our future not worth a little effort?
ANIKA PARTLOW-LOYALL
Little Rock
Hey, it's called a joke
Can we not take a joke anymore? In this political climate, it is essential to get our minds off of the mess in the White House. An easy way to do this is to make jokes and laugh about it. Unfortunately, Trump and his team have a hard time laughing along with us.
Saturday Night Live is famous for its political impressions and jokes, from Bill Clinton to Barack Obama. Not everyone finds Alec Baldwin's Trump impression or Kate McKinnon's Jeff Sessions funny, especially Donald Trump himself. Some people say that Saturday Night Live advocated for the Hillary Clinton campaign, shedding a positive light on her. Trump himself claimed Alec Baldwin's impression was the media rigging the election.
It's all just a joke, so it should be treated as such. We all need to laugh at ourselves sometimes, and celebrities and political figures should not be excluded. Political satire has been around for as long as there has been a government to make fun of. It is also essential that everyone has at least a general idea of what is going on in America, even if it is through Jimmy Fallon's nightly monologues or a "Weekend Update" segment.
Taking a joke is something Trump and his team need to learn to do. If Trump could learn to take himself a little less seriously, it would help us all to get along a little better. But then again, if we all got along, what would there be to make sketches about?
SOPHIA HARRIS
North Little Rock
Editorial on 10/20/2017