Letters: Alternative Christmas Fair tradition continues; ‘Vermin’ comment should scare all

Alternative Christmas Fair tradition continues

We warmly invite the community to the 41st Alternative Christmas Fair at the University Baptist and Brethren Church at 411 S. Burrowes St., State College this Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. You will find 30 local and global charities excited to tell you all about the work they do to make this a better world. Every dollar you donate goes directly to the charity you have chosen, and the greeting card provided with each donation will inform the person you are honoring of your gift. Why not make this holiday season one in which you donate rather than consume, giving gifts with lasting impact? In addition, you can enjoy a soup and sandwich luncheon served in the Fellowship Hall and go home with baked goods from our Bake Sale. Please join us this Sunday, Dec. 3, to be part of this beloved holiday tradition! The Online Fair will be held from Dec. 3-17. Visit ubbcwelcome.org/donate-acf for more information.

‘Vermin’ comment should scare all

On Nov. 11 Donald Trump pledged to “root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country.” In “Mein Kampf,” Hitler railed against Jews as Marxist communists and called them a “parasite upon the nations.” Vermin, parasites.

So, am I comparing ex-President Donald Trump to Adolph Hitler? You betcha, and it scares me. And it should scare us all that so many elected Republicans remain silent, just as so many “good Germans” did as Hitler rose to authoritarian power by way of hatred, racism and fear. There is even a fair size Republican political cadre who openly adore and emulate him. Really scary.

So, who are they who “live like vermin”? I’m sure that Trump’s white supremacist followers include Blacks in this group. And probably all people of color. Everyone in the LGBTQ community, who were marked for eradication in Nazi Germany? Anyone who has relied on our frayed social safety nets — welfare, food stamps, rental assistance, Medicaid, and maybe even Social Security? All non-Christians? Your friends and neighbors? Your children? You? Maybe. For Trump himself, it seems simple: Anyone who doesn’t support and praise him and doesn’t agree with him without question is an undesirable, no better than vermin.

What do we do? Attack or Capitol to stop our Constitutional processes? No. But we can contact our Congressional representatives, tell them that enough is enough. And we can vote, in primary and general elections. Please do so!

AP course an important step forward

The Nov. 26 edition of the CDT contained a story about an AP African American studies course coming to State College Area High School. It will be a two-semester course that builds upon an African American Studies course that has been offered for more than a decade. This new course will be a service to our high school students and to the community in the State College Area School District.

As a high school student in 1971, I took an honors American History class; I took an AP test and got three college credits. I remember reading W.E.B. DuBois. I had never heard of him until then. It was a revelation about the history and what was then the current condition of African Americans. His ideas about a way forward were like nothing I had seen before. Although that course had a great impact on me, what I learned about the African American history was just a thimble out of an ocean. This new AP course gives SCASD students an opportunity that people of my generation did not have.

As State College High senior Justin Castro-Dixon described the current course, it produced a “deeper understand of his community and history.’‘ For a student who does not have an African American background, it will be a reminder of the James Baldwin quote “American history is longer, larger, more various, more beautiful, and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it.” I applaud the SCASD board for this important step forward.

Ceasefire in Gaza

The Borough Council considered a ceasefire resolution for Gaza. I am 100% in favor of a ceasefire with the conditions that Hamas return all of the hostages safely and agree to recognize Israel’s right to exist with secure borders.

A ceasefire without these basic conditions will only allow Hamas to gather its forces and continue its murderous campaign against Israel. One of the basic tenets of Hamas is to destroy the state of Israel. Indeed, Article 13 of the Hamas charter reads:

“(Peace) initiatives, and so-called peaceful solutions and international conferences are in contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Resistance Movement... Those conferences are no more than a means to appoint the infidels as arbitrators in the lands of Islam... There is no solution for the Palestinian problem except by Jihad.”

And Hamas does not have its murderous sights only on Jews. Rotarians, Masons, and Lions Club members are also at risk. Article 22 states:

“The enemies have been scheming for a long time ... With their money they formed secret organizations — such as the Freemasons, Rotary Clubs and the Lions — which are spreading around the world, in order to destroy societies and carry out Zionist interests.”

Hamas must be stopped now! Yes, ceasefire but only with the return of all hostages and an unconditional surrender of Hamas.