Is Fort Worth’s big problem with kids killing one another a matter of overcrowding?
Is it just too many people together?
Sunday’s front-page headline told us, “101 dead: That’s how many Tarrant County teens have died from gun violence since 2016, and it’s getting worse. Are we ready to call this a crisis?” It’s too bad that no one will look into studies on rodents conducted by John B. Calhoun in the mid-20th century that led to his theory of “behavioral sink” caused by overpopulation. Even if you disagree with his work’s conclusion, the research might provide insight to the increases in violent behavior we are witnessing today.
Fort Worth and its surrounding areas have seen substantial population growth lately. Crowding more people into one area can have unintended effects. Behavioral sink might provide the path to understanding why.
- Thomas Horn, Keller
Putting political party over country
Kurt Bardella’s commentary, “When the GOP adopts an authoritarian playbook,” (Xtra Opinion, May 1) holds a mirror up to the fascist Russian regime and reveals the current state of the Republican Party. Their goals align, and almost eerily, so do the tactics. And they share the same underlying philosophy: opposition to the democratic ideals of pluralism and rule of law.
We can see parallels such as party-endorsed homophobia, the slurring of political opponents as “groomers,” letting citizens turn in or sue their neighbors for practicing their constitutional rights, and, of course, book banning to suppress historical facts and unpopular ideas.
It is unthinkable that in 2022 Americans might again give power to this party that stands against all our American ideals.
- Charles Stonick, Granbury
What’s really behind inflation
The author of a Sunday letter to the editor (5C) is correct that excessive money creation is a factor in Inflation. But he has the creation mechanism backward: The Federal Reserve and the government are responsible.
Even after it was established that we were entering a period of excessive inflation, the Fed engaged in an aggressive bond-buying program. Now, the Fed is trying to dry up the money supply without creating a recession, but it may be too late.
The stimulus money dumped into the economy to counter the “shrinkage” caused by the pandemic went to local governments and businesses, and a lot of that money is just now hitting the street and contributing to inflationary pressure. Timing is everything.
This is not the first time that Democrats have let inflation get out of control. I am old enough to remember those 18% mortgage rates during the Carter administration.
- James R. Anderson, North Richland Hills
What passes for college protest
The author of a Sunday letter to the editor took exception to Carlos Turcios’ April 24 column on free speech on college campuses. (5C, “College students are learning all the wrong lessons about free speech on campus”) The reader points out that in her college days, students protested the Vietnam War. Those protests shined a light on lies and wrongdoing that was getting U.S. service members killed.
It seems to me that today’s college students’ idea of free speech is shouting, playing instruments and even physically assaulting those they disagree with. They say speech they don’t agree with is violence against them.
Protesting incorrect pronouns for gender, arguing about Abraham Lincoln and Christopher Columbus, and trashing statues isn’t quite on par with protesting the Vietnam War. Those protests led to debates. The last thing college students seem to want now is debate. They want to shut down or cancel anyone whose views don’t match theirs.
- Randy Weeks, Roanoke