To the Editor:
Re “Squaring a Life, a Brutal Crime and a Man,” by Nicholas Kristof (column, Jan. 21):
Oh come on, Mr. Kristof. Your friend Bill Beard was a drug dealer. His mom abandoned him at a year and a half. His law-and-order father let him live in chaos and grow up uneducated. Bill committed a violent crime that damaged a woman for life. And you want to blame American capitalism?
Even in feudal times, he would have been excoriated for that crime. When you do something as bad as what Bill did, the only way to atone is to dedicate yourself to others for the rest of your life. Bill, instead, had the gall to complain that politicians were elitists who did not care about people like him.
Mr. Kristof, some crimes go to the nature of good and evil; to relate Bill’s crime to the inadequacy of the federal minimum wage is an insult to morality.
Susan Carboni
Teaneck, N.J.
To the Editor:
Nicholas Kristof touches on several but not all of the very soluble causes of Bill Beard’s shortened, tragic life. Other wealthy countries have excellent universal child care, which certainly would have given Bill a better childhood.
He died of rectal cancer, preventable and treatable when caught early, because he couldn’t “locate a specialist willing to accept his insurance.” Other wealthy countries have universal health care.
And, finally, unfavorable trade agreements led to the outsourcing of good manufacturing jobs and destroyed the livelihood of many working-class people in America’s heartlands. We have to bring back manufacturing to the U.S.
Susan Adler
West Orange, N.J.
To the Editor:
I was deeply shocked by Nicholas Kristof’s column about his friend Bill. In arguing for Bill’s humanity, he erased the woman whom Bill so viciously attacked. Yes, he notes her life was “destroyed” by the attack, but he spends much more time detailing Bill’s life (and short jail time curtailed in part because he kept being attacked by other inmates for his crime) than that of the woman whose life had been ruined.
There is no information about any attempt on Bill’s part to make restoration for his horrendous violence. Yes, we all deserve to be seen as more than our worst moments; however, we all must be held accountable for them. We are only more than our worst moments when we do all we can to repair the harm we have caused.
I finished the column aching for all women who are seen only as minor characters in a man’s story. All humans deserve better.
Charlotte M. Canning
Austin, Texas
Trump Supporters’ Fears About Taylor Swift
To the Editor:
Re “Swift Silent on Election, but That’s News to Fox” (news article, Feb. 1), about conservatives who are fearful that Taylor Swift will endorse President Biden:
Let me get this straight. A group of Fox celebrities with a national reach who daily “endorse” Donald Trump’s agenda and candidacy have the gall to attempt to suppress a figure with a national reach who might counter their somehow sacrosanct view?
Really? Without taking sides on the election itself, I suppose the news — if any — is that Taylor Swift probably has far more influence.
Craig H. Kliger
San Francisco
To the Editor:
Re “Far Right Sees a Secret Agent, Not a Pop Star” (front page, Jan. 31):
Taylor Swift has written that “systemic racism we still see in this country towards people of color is terrifying, sickening and prevalent.” She follows in the great tradition of singer-songwriters who have been the voice for our inner angels.
With the ongoing attacks on D.E.I., it is fitting that it is the voice of youth that makes the clarion call for a fair world. And just maybe, this time, youth will triumph.
Janet Krommes
Titusville, N.J.
To the Editor:
It’s one thing for Donald Trump to take classified documents or incite an insurrection, but when MAGA starts messing with the Swifties, look out!
Mark Maddaloni
Closter, N.J.
Republican Hypocrisy at the Tech Hearing
To the Editor:
Re “Senators Berate Tech Executives on Child Safety” (front page, Feb. 1):
It turns my stomach to watch Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley and their G.O.P. colleagues profess withering outrage against tech companies for not doing enough to limit content that is harmful to children.
Where is their same outrage at the persistent gun violence that kills children almost every day?
If those senators can’t summon the same will to confront gun manufacturers and gun sellers as they can to confront tech companies, it is abundantly clear that their professed desire to protect children is a lie and that their conduct at Wednesday’s hearing was an empty political performance.
Pamela J. Griffith
Brooklyn
Modi’s Choice in India
To the Editor:
Re “A New Temple Embodies Modi’s Merger of Religion and Politics” (front page, Jan. 25):
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has strategically consolidated power through a pro-Hindu agenda since coming to power in 2014. After national elections expected this spring, the 73-year-old Mr. Modi will be at a fork in the road.
He can either double down on his Hindutva agenda, alienating ethnic and religious minorities, or build on India’s democratic and economic development to advance national reconciliation.
Without the pressure of re-election, Mr. Modi’s legacy as an inclusive Indian leader and global statesman would be served through a more conciliatory approach.
David L. Phillips
New York
The writer is an adjunct professor at Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service.
Bounty Hunters and the Broken Bail System
To the Editor:
Re “Bounty Hunter Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Kidnapping Woman” (news article, nytimes.com, Jan. 24):
Reality TV has sensationalized the idea that bounty hunters are vigilantes and the individuals they seek are “bad guys.” This case shows quite the opposite. Bounty hunters are instruments of a broken cash bail system that advantages the wealthy and undermines the presumption of innocence.
As in this tragic case, their actions sometimes mirror the abusive, dysfunctional and ineffective system that necessitates them. Missed court appearances are quite rare; most people return to the vast majority of their court dates. The 30,000 individuals served by the Bail Project have returned to 91 percent of their court dates with none of their own money on the line, proving that cash bail is unnecessary as a means to ensure that someone returns to court. When they miss court, it’s for the same reasons you or I would miss a medical appointment.
But you wouldn’t know that from the sometimes extreme responses of bounty hunters. About a dozen states and jurisdictions are curtailing or eliminating the use of cash bail, in part to remediate this failing system where wealth, not safety, determines who goes to jail and who walks free.
Jeremy Cherson
Los Angeles
The writer is director of communications for The Bail Project.