Protesters who toppled Silent Sam ‘did UNC a favor’

Regarding “Protesters topple Silent Sam Confederate statue at UNC” (Aug. 20): Whoever yanked the Confederate monument from its pedestal at UNC did the university and the state a favor. A statue that venerates racial slavery and Jim Crow segregation has no place at an institution that considers itself the people’s university.

The method of removal was not optimal, but the better course of action required leadership from Chancellor Carol Folt. For a year Folt deflected demands for action on the monument with sterile bleats for dialogue; even when the governor told her she was within the law to remove it, she refused.

Her statement on the removal of the statue is misleading at best. She claimed that the statue was “divisive” and a “source of frustration.” But opinion was not divided at the University, in Chapel Hill, or in Orange County – the public and many elected officials opposed the statue’s continued presence. The source of frustration was the chancellor’s determination not to act.

To the UNC administration, the incident is a crisis to be managed. That’s too bad, because Carolina is sorely in need of principled and forward-looking leadership to address the myriad issues that are at the core of the conflict over Confederate monuments.

Remove with dignity

Regarding “Protesters topple Silent Sam Confederate statue at UNC” (Aug. 20): On my mother’s side of the family, we have some Civil War-era letters written by Southern ancestors. The most prominent topic therein, other than concern about the letter’s delivery, was concern about being conscripted into the Confederate army. The “Gone With the Wind” imagery of gung-ho, whooping young white men aggressively seeking war with the North, is mostly a fiction.

After fighting and suffering heavy losses in a war many of them didn’t seek out, aging former Confederate soldiers might have taken some comfort in the statues honoring their service, erected around 1900. However, now all those soldiers are gone, along with virtually anyone who personally knew them.

Any reasonable individual understands that the cause of the Civil War was grotesquely unjust. The presence of these statues is offensive to many present-day citizens, especially African-Americans, for obvious reasons.

Those who do not want to see these statues toppled and defiled by protesters need to act quickly to remove them to some place of historical context. Governor Cooper has recommended this, but our legislature has inhibited it. Isn’t it better for the government to remove them with dignity, than for them to be violently removed by citizens with just cause?

Stop predatory lending

Sen. Thom Tillis is facing a conundrum: Support Kathy Kraninger’s nomination to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau or insist on a nominee that will stand up for the tens of thousands of service members in North Carolina that are preyed upon by predatory lenders.

Kraninger has no experience that makes her fit to run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. She has never overseen financial institutions and she has never had a role protecting Americans from abusive corporate practices. These should be minimum qualifications for a CFPB director.

Military bases are prime targets for shady companies hawking dishonest loans and credit products with deceptive terms, outrageous fees and unethical limits on legal rights.

Since North Carolina is home to some of the largest military bases in the country, Sen. Tillis should stand up for our military communities by opposing Kraninger’s bid to continue rolling back service member protections at the CFPB.

Plastic alternatives

Regarding “Environmental move against plastic straws gaining attention in NC” (Aug. 20): We found two alternatives we use in our home. Paper straws are fine if you’re going to finish your drink in 20-30 minutes, and we also use steel straws, which clean up very nicely in the dishwasher. Both were available online , but I’m sure you can find them elsewhere.

It should be noted that while most plastic straws end up in landfills, a very large amount end up in the ocean. There, they are dangerous to fish, who get them caught in their throats. If you like your tuna and salmon steaks, it might be a good idea to banish plastic straws from your home.