Readers sound off on ugly American history, Pete Buttigieg and lithium-ion batteries

Hempstead, L.I.: To Voicers Charles Michael Sitero, John De Angelo and others: During the ostensibly good old days, while Johnny Unitas was putting his head down and doing his job, there were other citizens who did the same in this country. They tried with all the strength and dignity they could muster to fit into society in the “good old days.” Yet they couldn’t sit down in the same restaurants with Johnny and eat. Same hotel? Nope. Walk down the same street? Well, yes, but you better keep your head and eyes down, boy! The very amenities that their tax dollars helped to provide to these establishments such as gas, electric and water were denied to them. This was not just a Southern thing either.

Italian and German prisoners of war were treated better than the Black soldiers who fought for this country during the “good old days” of World War II. The GI Bill and various programs granted to “White” soldiers (see that capital W?) and their families were denied to Black soldiers and their families. Never mind the lynchings that many endured — some while in uniform, no less.

Some of you will say that you didn’t start the fire but you sure did keep it ablaze. Only God will be the judge of all mankind, whether Black, white or yellow. He will decide who was dignified and followed His command to do unto others. Let us all examine ourselves to see if we are fit to stand before a Holy God. Chris Clement

Brooklyn: To Voicer Patrick Susco: As it was explained to me by a previous editor of the Daily News, white is not a race and therefore is written in lower case. My suggestion would be to write Caucasian and, as such, will be capitalized. Josie Oliveri

Brooklyn: This controversy about critical race theory is not about protecting the children. It’s about protecting their parents from the realization that the American history they were raised with was a whitewashed history and they might have to deal with America’s true history. Don’t worry about the children. They’ll be fine, they will deal with it. It’s the parents and grandparents who don’t want to come to grips with their inherent racism. They say they aren’t racist but why couldn’t I find one red MAGA cap at any of the Black Lives Matter protests? Ken Miller

Manhattan: The national day of hate has got to end. I hope it does not return at all! Instead, we should have a national day of peace and love, and teach children from a young age about diversity, inclusion and acceptance. Amy Rosenfeld-Kass

Brooklyn: Liam Neeson, get over yourself. It’s obvious that Joy Behar was just kidding. Lighten up. Life is too short to take everything so seriously. June Lowe

Boynton Beach, Fla.: It should be obvious to anyone other than immune-to-education-and-facts MAGA cult members that the Republicans are out to destroy the career of Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, who they deem a threat to their fascist agenda for America. Mayor Pete represents everything the Republican MAGA party detests — gay; a veteran who served honorably; extremely intelligent, articulate and impossible for the MAGA right-wing media hacks to deal with if they have the courage to interview him. Let’s see if Rep. Jim Jordan will begin an investigation into Pete on the Palestine, Ohio, train derailment comparable to the three-year Benghazi investigation farce into Hillary Clinton. Hang in there, Pete, and remind everyone that our secretary of transportation during the Trump administration, Elaine Chao, did not visit one train derailment site — and there were many. William T. Bredin

Manhattan: Isn’t Fox News licensed by the FCC? Can they not just pull the plug on this offensive network, where money is the motivating factor and the lies and conspiracy theories cause havoc throughout the nation? There is certainly enough evidence of their hypocrisy that the network should be shut down. Maybe other practitioners of the art of the lie would then be hard-pressed to copy the Fox format. Wherein each day there is a new bombshell lie promulgated by Fox, shouldn’t the American public quash the origin? Jack Weiss

Trenton, Mo.: Is MTG pre-positioning her Confederacy commander-in-chief campaign to the right of Genghis Khan, Attila the Hun and the Donald? MTG fans, please study the Czechoslovak Velvet Revolution of 1989 and their Velvet Divorce of ‘92. Let’s all avoid the bloody, cruel, deadly Yugoslav divorce/wars of 1991-2001! The evil English Empire “quit” India in ‘47 with as many as 2 million deaths and 10-20 million displaced humans! Let’s learn from human history and carefully select which parts to repeat! Ron Renkoski

Bronx: Re “Devastation for no legitimate reason” (Feb. 24): The mentally stable leaders of the world should put a contract on the few bad actors in the world. My choice will be to have Israel’s Mossad in charge of the operation. Virgilio Carballo

Ridge, L.I.: Hey, Daily News, thanks for insulting us Mets fans with the Friday back-page picture and story on that lying ex-Met DeTraitor (“For Jake, it’s de first step,” Feb. 24). You wouldn’t do it about any ex-Yankee. I guess Thursday was a slow sports night. Nick Ziino

Manhattan: My million-dollar question to the MTA Access-a-Ride/Schlep-A-Ride/Stress-A-Ride: Why must it take two to three hours to get home every week? Never fails. I do not blame the drivers, they are very nice. I blame the whole system. It treats us like dirt some dispatches, as we all complain. We are people, not luggage. Treat us all as if we are using trains and buses. Again, it is a broken system that must be fixed. There’s no way I will put up with a two-hour ride each time I leave Riverdale in the Bronx. Unacceptable. Helen M. Murphy

Long Island City: I read your article (“Fear battery blazes,” Feb. 26) concerning how to protect our Bravest from these all-too-often lithium-ion battery fires. Please reference my letter in your Nov. 17 edition. The only way is to ban these devices. I think our local officials are totally misguided about trying to protect the livelihoods of these food delivery workers. The mayor and City Council have it wrong. There is no feasible way to make these devices safe. It is a trade-off between our Bravest and the food delivery workers because our elected officials have no way of enforcing regulations that would make the situation safer. Delivery workers should go back to non-battery-operated bikes. Paul Camilleri

Garwood, NJ.: It seems that every month, there are at least one or two home fires caused by lithium-ion batteries. The frequency seems to be on the rise. As I watch the news, I see signs posted outside these buildings that prohibit residents from using these batteries inside their units. Obviously, these warnings go in one ear and out the other. I also notice where most of these fires are occurring — my suggestion is that all residents of city, state and federally funded housing receive a certified letter stating that if any of these batteries are found charging e-bikes or e-scooters in their home, or if a fire in their unit was caused by one of those batteries, they forfeit the right/privilege to live in any public-funded housing. John Deichmeister

Glen Head, L.I.: For the past few months, I have been reading letters in the Voice of the People about city employees and retirees’ fears about losing their free health insurance. Exactly what free health insurance is being spoken about? When I started my teaching career in 1971, I was paying monthly for my health insurance. Since my retirement, I have been paying $355 per month for my free health insurance! I contacted NYC human resources and spoke to someone high up in that office. I was told that my health insurance is actually free! The monthly premium of $355 is for the prescription part of my plan. And she was serious! So where the hell has my free NYC health insurance been for the past 50 years? Robert Kralick