Letters on Trump's praise of Putin; call for end of prison rodeo; how trauma plays role

Get out of my U.S. of America

What does it tell you about a former U.S. president praising Russian President Vladimir Putin, the N. Korean dictator and Adolf Hitler? What it tells me is "Get your ... out of my beautiful U.S. of America."

At the age of 89 years, I remember well Hitler and World War II.

― E. Jane Dunham, Bethany

Animals feel same pain as we do; end Oklahoma's prison rodeos

As a former prosecutor, we know that violent criminals including serial killers often abuse animals before they start killing or injuring people. So why are prisoners, some of them in prison for violent crimes, allowed to win prizes for abusing animals? Rodeo animal abuse substantiates their violent behavior.

As a former bareback bronc rider, pathologist and large animal veterinarian, I have both the experience and autopsy proof that rodeo injures and kills animals. Dr. Robert Bay from Colorado autopsied roping calves and found hemorrhages, torn muscles, torn ligaments, damage to the trachea, damage to the throat and damage to the thyroid. These calves never get a chance to heal before they are used again. Meat inspectors including Drs. Haber and Fetzner who processed rodeo animals found broken bones, ruptured internal organs, massive amounts of blood in the abdomen from ruptured blood vessels and damage to the neck.

Animals and humans share the same pain and fear centers in the brain. The fear center is the amygdala. The pain centers are the prefrontal cortex and the hypothalamus. Animals feel pain and fear the same as humans!

Time to end rodeos in prisons. Doing animal rescue would be a better choice.

— Peggy W Larson, Williston, Vermont

Trauma plays significant role in youths in juvenile justice system

A few studies within the last decade reveal that anywhere between 80-95% of youths who encounter the juvenile justice system meet the criteria for a mental health diagnosis. Moreover, of these studies, one found that of the large number of youths who meet the criteria for a mental health disorder, approximately 30% meet the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder. On the other hand, another study suggests that in one of the East Coast states in the United States, about 40% of these youths and their families have child welfare involvement. Perhaps the intervention must not aim post-partum (after birth) but during gestation (pregnancy).

In their systematic review, Branco et al. (2021) revealed more healthy and impactful parenting styles after prenatal parenting programs were provided to study participants. Furthermore, the children of the participants in Branco et al.’s examination showed decreased problematic behaviors compared to the control group who did not receive the prenatal parenting intervention. Simply put, the children were gifted a healthier lifestyle because a focus was placed on healing their parents from adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).

Trauma proves to play a significant role in the societal issue of many youths encountering the juvenile justice system. Intergenerational trauma likely plays a more prominent role than considered. Conceivably, the research for required parental education on trauma before childbirth is overdue.

― Cliff McManus, Pauls Valley

Let's approve child tax credit

Please consider passing the child tax credit to help young kids be able to afford care. They are always in need. Thank you for considering them and their families.

— Lisa Seitz, Oklahoma City

Youths who live in an accepting community have lower suicide rates

Regarding "Oklahoma legislature considering over 50 bills targeting LGBTQ+ issues. What do they say?"

The importance of calling someone by their preferred pronouns forms a part of their identity. I invite everyone to imagine themselves picturing someone calling them by another name that isn’t their preferred name. How does that make you feel?

Oklahoma Senate Bill 1880 would strip children and youth attending public schools of anything that does not align with a student’s biological sex. For example, nonbinary transgender teens and adults may be mispronounced and addressed inappropriately more often because of this, and being addressed by incorrect pronouns has been found to lead to increased feelings of distress. Furthermore, addressing students using pronouns that do not describe how they feel adds to distress rumination individuals’ anxiety and depression anxiety, and depression in those students.

The Trevor Project reports that LGBTQ+ youth who live in an accepting community and or feel high social support have significantly lower rates of attempting suicide. So now I ask Oklahoma Senate members if they are ready to be accountable for the damage SB 1880 will have on others.

— Cathy Rodriguez, Union City, California

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Questioning Trump's praise of Putin, calling for end of prison rodeo