An open letter to the person who took my cat: Please bring Eddie home | Letters

I know you meant well when you took Eddie, the three-legged cat, from my yard. Though Eddie appeared well cared for, you were concerned that he had only three legs and was, after all, outside alone.

Did you know that Eddie, the sociable orange and white cat with three legs, has a family who love him? Did you know that in seven years he has never been separated from his brother, Tommy.

I know that you are a caring person or you wouldn't have stopped. I know that Eddie can charm anyone with his big personality and his robust purr.

Did you know that his family are searching for you desperately? Did you know that Eddie is on prescription medication? Did you you know that it is hard to stay hopeful as each day passes without word of Eddie?

Please, please take Eddie to a vet to have his chip read.

Chris Sheets

Hazel Park

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We've got an answer for you, Mr. Maloney

Where are the comics?

Gerald Maloney

Southfield

Editor's note: They're in the Life section.

Choose democracy, not partisanship

I have listened to Republicans express concerns about former President Donald Trump. They admit that there are things they don't like about him, things they wish he didn't do or say, that perhaps are not in the best interest of our nation. Yet even in acknowledging these things, they still say they will likely vote for Trump, because they can't bring themselves to vote for any Democrat. They have chose partisanship over democracy.

As an American they have the right to vote for their choice, and have that vote, the will of the people, respected. The will of the people is precisely what Trump would take away, replacing it with whatever his will is. If Trump doesn't win the election, it is likely he will attempt to overturn the will of the people, just as he did in 2020.

Partisanship is one thing. We all tend to support those who agree with our viewpoint. Yet, if we are to form a more perfect union, a commitment to the peaceful transfer of power is a must. You can't just be a patriot when you win. America must decide between we the people, and a would-be dictator bent on retribution. Our democracy depends on it.

Earnest L. Robinson Jr., Esq.

Southfield

Mitch got it wrong on college protests

I'd like to rebut Mitch Albom's recent column saying that some college students, professors and others who are demonstrating against Israel are poorly informed about the Hamas-Israel war and are antisemitic. ("Let's be clear on what these campus protests are really about," Detroit Free Press, May 7.)

Albom is an excellent journalist. But he has omitted and distorted the true reason why they are demonstrating. Now, what Hamas did on Oct. 7, 2023, by killing 1,200 innocent Israelis and kidnapping 250 more is disgusting and barbaric.

But I believe in general these protesters are well informed about the conflict, and they are not antisemitic. They are protesting Israel's hawkish and extreme right wing government of Benjamin Netanyahu for killing more than 34,000 Palestinians who were mostly women, children, babies and injuring over 77,000 and destroying their homes, businesses, hospitals, mosques, schools, and starving the Palestinians by not allowing food and medical supplies to reach them for over six weeks. By criticizing Israel, government actions does not mean you are antisemitic.

Rodney Hanna

Northville

Mitch got it right on college protests

Thank you for Mitch Albom’s column. (“Let’s be clear on what these campus protests are really about,” Detroit Free Press, May 5.)

The anti-Israel protests call to mind not the late 1960s antiwar demonstrations, but rather, the 1950s-1960s protests against integration, when white racists at Southern high schools and universities blocked entry to Black students and shouted racist taunts at them.

Videos show Jewish students at UCLA being blocked from campus by pro-Palestinian protesters. A leader of Columbia’s protesters posted videos saying “Zionists do not deserve to live” and “be grateful that I’m not just going out and murdering Zionists.” Demonstrators have screamed “Go back to Poland” at Jewish students, called them Hamas’s next victims and even assaulted them.

Peaceful protests are one thing. Antisemitic mobs bullying Jewish kids are quite another, and completely antithetical to a university’s academic mission.

Stephen A. Silver

San Francisco, California

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Mitch should read Friedman's latest

Mitch Albom certainly expressed a strong opinion in his recent column. (“Let’s be clear over what these campus protests are really about,” Detroit Free Press, May 5.)

Although it was an opinion piece, I think some more objectivity was warranted. Afterall, to date over 34,000 Gazans have been killed, with a vast majority of those being women and children. Even in my reserved (or tired) 70s, I am aggrieved and angered by the images of carnage I see via the media. Consequently, I disagree with Albom painting all student demonstrations being “really about” antisemitism.

The hateful campus incidents he cited should not be excused as youthful indiscretions, but I doubt they exemplify the opinions of the majority of protesters.

I committed a few indiscretions in my youth, like joining the army during the Vietnam war. Decades later, I’m a 20-year member of Veterans For Peace.

Regarding Albom’s conclusion that “outsiders played an enormous role” in the protests based on the training university protesters received from outside activist groups is a “red herring.” Based on my experience in multiple protests, leaders insist on training new participants so they do not commit acts of violence like those perpetrated by the pro-Israel group at UCLA.

In my youth, I was very pro-Israel, but after realizing Israel is an apartheid state it was off my list of countries to visit even though I’ve been to the Middle East numerous times for work. I don’t, however, want Israel to be destroyed. I want it reformed in a way Thomas Friedman described in his recent column. (“Israel and Saudi Arabia are trading paces,” New York Times May 5.)

Friedman urges Israel to embark on “…a credible pathway to peace with Saudi Arabia and the Palestinians.” Of course, this could be a pipe dream, because I never thought I would see the day that Saudi Arabia appears more enlightened than Israel. As Friedman states, “Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Solomon has put his country’s worst religious extremists in jail, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has put his country’s worst religious extremists in his cabinet.” In my opinion, protests that are pro-Palestine can also be pro-Israel.

James M. Rine

Grosse Pointe Woods

Trump should consider making a deal

The media, with its stories of fear and loathing if Donald Trump wins the election, should shift its focus and report more comprehensively on the landscape if he loses. Trump said a “bloodbath for the country” is in store if he doesn’t win. This is a classic example of misdirection. If Joe Biden is re-elected, Trump will not be able to put an end to the criminal proceedings currently underway, and if convicted, faces the frightening prospect of imprisonment.

With the Justice Department free to carry out prosecution, Trump would be wise to instruct legal counsel to negotiate a plea bargain guaranteeing that he never sees the inside of a jail cell. In exchange, he would acknowledge the legitimacy of the 2020 election, his complicity in the failed effort to overthrow it, and agree to never run for, or hold, elective office in the future, proving once and for all that custodianship of the Constitution rests with the electorate.

Jim Paladino

Tampa, Florida

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Cat rescue, Trump, Gaza protests on college campuses | Letters