The Milwaukee Post

8 • Milwaukee County Post • January 23, 2015 OPINION Time is right to protect wolves from painful deaths To the editor: I cheered when I read the fed- eral protections for wolves had been restored, saving these ani- mals from slow, painful deaths in leg-hold traps or swift, terri- fied ones as victims of dog packs. It is true, as Melissa Tedrowe stated in her column last week, that Wisconsin had over- reached. Our state rushed to allow cruel trophy hunting, using a plan based on data gath- ered in the 1990s, according to the Department of Natural Resources. Why wolves have suddenly become the object of such vio- lence around the country, but especially, viciously, in our once- proud state, is a mystery. We as a nation have spent decades of time and thousands of dollars saving this species, which was in danger of disappearing. If our goal as a country was to restore these animals, why did Wisconsin institute a trophy hunt the very minute after the wolves were removed from the endangered list? Oh sure, we'll hear the stories of someone's animals being killed by "prob- lem" wolves, but that happens rarely. Plus, studies show that non-lethal methods of animal control work best, regardless. I realize fear is a powerful motivator, but do Wisconsinites as a whole quake in fear of being attacked by wolves, even though that has never hap- pened? It seems obvious our com- monly held resources — wildlife — must no longer be controlled by a DNR that listens and responds only to hunters, trap- pers and other "consumptive" users. Those sorts make up a scant 11 percent of citizens, after all, according to the DNR. The other 89 percent of us pre- fer to walk the woods, not stalk them. But it's always open sea- son on some species, using some sort of weaponry, so we the 89 percent pay our taxes to fund state parks too dangerous to hike in most months of year. It is time to demand a wildlife policy that puts wildlife first and the selfish desires of some people last. We must recognize we all share this world and that humans aren't the only species on the planet, even if we act as if we are. Thankfully, this is not an issue one can easily divide by political party, as is done with every other issue these days, in such a predictable and tiresome fashion. This is, however, another case of "follow the money." Killing animals for fun and entertainment may bring money to our state, but tourism dollars to see those same animals alive and in their own territory could easily bring in more. This is happening in other states, where gover nments recognize what a living treasure they have in their wildlife and their tourism boards work with that. When on earth will we? How about now? The moment is right. Jill Giencke Cudahy Streetcar would be square peg in a round hole To the editor: I read with interest Er nst- Ulrich Franzen's column on the streetcar referendum. I particu- larly enjoyed his attempt to degrade the value of public ref- erendums in general by compar- ing the streetcar referendum to segregation in the South. Let's start there because there is an obvious connection, though one Mr. Franzen would not like to admit. Segregation hurt the black people. It condemned them to a life of lower class with fewer resources available than the whites. The streetcar has an immediate impact on all blacks in Milwaukee as well. The Milwaukee trolley proposal with its starter price of easily over $100 million (but you can easily double that based on the history of every Milwaukee public works project ever attempted) will be sucking resources from police, fire and every inner-city community service need for quite some time. Alderman Joe Davis as well as others have repeatedly stated this obvious fact. This streetcar loop is designed to favor the rich, white privileged class. The developer of the luxury Couture Apartments wants it as well so that his rich tenants have door service. Several others in that class have so much as demanded it as well. The wealthy develop- ers, the movers and shakers on the inside would also like to make themselves rich off of this project. What is lost in all this talk is who loses. Milwaukee is not one of the wealthier cities of America and that has direct consequences for the African-American communi- ty. In fact, we have seen resources stretched as of late. Crime, as we all know, dispro- portionately affects the inner- city black neighborhoods. Cuts to safety services hurts them harder as well. Apart from the obvious dis- parity of funneling limited resources to the wealthiest area of the city at the expense of the poor inner-city folks, let's look at some of the common-sense aspects of the proposed project. We live in an instant gratifica- tion world. The instant success of Uber and Lyft ride-sharing services ordered up on the smartphones of an entire gener- ation of millennials across the nation proves that the fixed- track, fixed-schedule trolley loop idea is folly. In this modern age when the public clamors for flex- ibility that ride-sharing services can give them, it is insanity to try to fit a square peg into a round hole such as the mayor is trying to do. Yet here we are with a mayor who has a vision to force us all to take a ride back in history and saddle the costs on the backs of inner-city blacks and suburban taxpayers in the process. The Selma protests and the push for desegregation of the South were all about giving peo- ple a voice in the process. The Milwaukee trolley referendum is no less about giving the people a voice in the process, something Mayor Barrett and the Common Council have refused to allow. Thank you, Mr. Franzen, for, in your own special way, pointing this out. Vince Schmuki Shorewood Transgenders who commit suicide should not be forgotten To the editor: Leelah Alcorn was born the wrong sex. Though born a boy, she should have been bor n a girl. These things happen in nature. It doesn't always match the biological sex with the per- son. Leelah wanted to be accept- ed by her family in Ohio, but unfortunately, her family was so devout in their Christianity that they couldn't accept her for who she was, but wanted her to change. As with those born gay, she couldn't. I, like 99 percent of those reading this, don't know what it is like to be like Leelah. I don't know what it is like to be gay either, though we have become as a society more accepting of those who are gay. I do know what it is like though, to be outside of the norm in some ways, so maybe that gives me more sympathy for people like Leelah. Now, I bring this up, because Leelah committed suicide late last year by jumping in front of a truck. She was 17. Yes, an awful way to die and an awful waste to a young life. What kind of pain those who are transgen- der must feel, to think about committing suicide. In the last 15 or so years, there has been a dramatic shift on support for gay rights in America, and I am hopeful we can say the same thing about the transgender community one day. Leelah wrote, "my death needs to mean something." She shouldn't have had to die for her life to mean something, of course, but her death, and why she died, should not be forgotten or ignored. If a god exists, I cannot it imagine it would want to cause people like Leelah pain and anguish because she cannot be what she is not. A just and loving god would accept her for who she is, someone who wanted to be accepted for herself, instead of what she was expected to be. Kelly Cruz Milwaukee Terrorism attacks free speech, freedom of religon To the editor: Who can recall when President Obama attacked "those who slander the Prophet of Islam"at the United Nations? The media did not report this and we are witnessing one more nail in the coffin of free speech and freedom of religion. The evil act in Paris was planned and fueled by every country that is cowardly afraid to call these acts what they are. Couple this with mislabeling, calling them cowards, not extremists and the release of five more terrorists from Guantanamo is dissolving America as the "land of the free." Suzanne McKinney Cudahy Belling spot-on with recent Post column To the editor: I am writing to you in regard to Mark Belling's article in the Milwaukee County Post edition of Jan. 2 ("Black lives do matter — and blacks should act like it"). I read the Post every week and I have never read an article that made as much sense, and every word in it was true and very accurate. Mark Belling should be given a lot of praise for everything he said. Joanne Holewski Oak Creek Send your letters to: The Milwaukee Post, c/o Dwayne Butler, 3397 S. Howell Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53207, or by e-mail to: dbutler@conleynet.com. We reserve the right to edit letters for style, length and clarity. Letters should be typewritten or printed and include full name, phone number and address. Please keep your letters to no more than 400 words. Letters policy LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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