Leaders obsessed with race. Pregnant 21-year-old's shooting death was about her behavior.
Ta’Kiya Young's death the result of her actions
Two things have nothing to do with the Aug. 24, 2023, Blendon Twp. shooting of 21-year-old Ta’Kiya Young: The suspect’s race and pregnancy.
Young was accused of stealing liquor from Kroger.
She got into a car, which did not have license plates and was illegally parked in a handicap spot.
A Kroger employee alerted police, who were required to approach Young and detain her. Officers repeatedly asked Young to get out of the car. The law requires Young to comply, but she refused to do so over a dozen times.
More: Supreme Court orders Blendon Twp. to give justices records in fatal Ta'Kiya Young shooting
Released video showed police officers doing their job. It shows Young refusing to comply with officers, then knowingly and purposefully driving forward, hitting another police officer, lifting him off the ground. Clearly, Young would have run the officer down.
Our community would be much better served by leaders who based their decisions more on a person’s behavior than their race.
Violent and/or non-compliant behavior, directed at police officers, will almost always end badly for the person involved. Our leaders should become less concerned with a person’s color and more concerned with their behavior.
Carmen Sauer, Columbus
If you are tired of evil vote Trump
I am responding to the April 14 letter to the editor "Thinking People Must Vote" by Jeanette Ballantyne of Akron.
Believe me I am thinking and asking the following questions:
Are our borders secure? No. Millions of illegal immigrants have entered. Millions.
I want to protect the unborn. Do you?
Donald Trump a juggernaut of chaos. Will thinking people stand up?
I want our police to protect our cities which means there will be law and order. There are no consequences for those who break the law. I am voting for good versus evil.
What about inflation? Food prices have increased as well as our gas prices at the pump.
How about the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms?
Ask yourself are you better off now than four years ago? If you are thinking, the answer is simple and clear.If you are thinking, how could you/would you vote for a declining president who needs help to get off the stage or who needs three-by-five cards to help him remember or answer questions?
Are you watching CNN or MSNBC?
This land of ours was founded on Godly principles by religious men who were thinking by the people, for the people; not big government, lying and power-hungry Democrats.
Last but not least, I am not only thinking, I am praying for a country that stands up for the rights of the people.Trump voters are thinking and voting in November.
Jo Simmons, Delaware
Require solar panels
News reports suggest yet more agricultural land in Ohio is being bought up for conversion into solar panel farms.
It is unbelievable that no one seems to have figured that distribution centers built almost exclusively on farmland have flat roofs that are ideal for arrays of solar panels.
Existing distribution centers and those in the planning stage should be required to install solar panels on their flat roofs, thus saving valuable farmland.
David Elliot, Columbus
What do you think? How to submit a letter to the editor for The Columbus Dispatch
Downtown rooftops and parking lots should go green
Downtown Columbus needs to be green. Columbus should lead the way for our country and our world by turning our city into a much more sustainable and natural place.
You may ask how we should do that.
The answer is by taking advantage of the unused space in our city.
One way is through turning empty rooftops into rooftops with trees, plant and flowers. This will make our city much greener and more beautiful. It also will reduce our carbon imprint because the plants can suck in the carbon dioxide.
Another way is through repurposing empty parking lots.
You may not think that there are many unused parking lots in the city, but I once watched a video that said that over half of America’s parking lots are unused or mostly vacant. When you think about it most parking lots are only used for a couple of hours a day or sometimes only once a year.
An example is the parking lot between Mapfre Stadium and the Ohio State Fair. This place that is only used for a very short part of the year could have hundreds of solar panels that would only be needed to move for a couple of weeks and then could be replaced. This could produce enough energy to power thousands of homes in the city.
Joe Baylis, Bexley
We can't be silent in face of World War 3
As an Ahmadi Muslim living in Columbus, my faith teaches me to speak truthfully and courageously before my leaders, especially those who are hardhearted, unjust and cruel.
This is in fact the greatest form of ‘Jihad’ as stated by the Holy Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
The world was silent when Israel attacked the Iranian embassy in Syria. The world is silent only because Israel was the perpetrator; however, we now see, this is causing the war to spread further.
The world was also silent when tens of thousands of Palestinians were killed. Voices have only started being raised when aid workers were killed.
Unfortunately, we are witnessing World War 3 unfold and expecting soft measures and silence to solve for the lack of justice.
However, to remain silent does not mean there is peace.
His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the worldwide head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, has repeatedly stated for the last decade-plus that to have peace we must have justice at every level of society. While Iran's retaliation on Israel is justified, Israel's attack on Iran was foolish.
Israel pulling Iran into this war will only pull in more nations. As distressing as this will be for the entire world, I encourage my neighbors to keep praying for justice and helping each other out as we must prepare for difficult days ahead.
Samar Ahmad, Columbus
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ta’Kiya Young: Shooting was non-compliance to police not race
