President Donald Trump wants protest and violence in Minneapolis on Thursday. Nothing rallies his core more than feeling that they are under attack. Trump's support from Republicans is starting to crack with impeachment, so he needs violence in Minneapolis to rally his base.
Trump's words appeal to his base supporters, but his actions hurt them. Income inequality, tax cuts for the rich and cuts to Medicare, Social Security and health insurance tend to hurt his base more than most other people. His major achievement so far is more pollution, and we know how global warming (and gun violence and drugs) especially impact the areas where his base is concentrated. Instead of attacking Trump's supporters, we liberals need to show them that we care about them. I hope we learned the folly of thinking of them as deplorables in 2016.
Once Trump no longer needs his core supporters, he'll throw them under the bus just like he's done with so many of his appointees and employees. Trump richly deserves our bitter anger, but his supporters deserve understanding and even sympathy. On Thursday, can we show them a little Minneapolis hospitality, too?
David Raymond, Minneapolis
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I disagree with the letter writer who said protesters should stay home on Thursday, the day Trump comes to town, because Trump hates being ignored and that it will work better than protesting ("Your silence would be shrewd as Trump visits Minneapolis," Readers Write, Oct. 6).
I feel that doing nothing will have the opposite effect. Trump's handlers will spin it to tell him that all of Minneapolis must love him because no one showed up from the opposition.
People, please show up in vast numbers. Hold your signs up high! Respect the rules and law enforcement, but be loud and clear with the messages of needing a change come 2020.
Nancy Nichols, St. Louis Park
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It's a good idea, and not a new one, suggested in a recent letter about staying home when Trump is visiting. I want to agree, and I do agree.
However (and I think this should always be kept in mind), those who are anxiously in support of this Republican Party and its president are convinced that the end justifies the means, that results are all that matter. They will use whatever is available, whether it be loud or quiet, to crowbar falsehoods and half-truths into the mix.
The ugly and frightening creature of fear and hate has been loosed on our self-governing apparatus that is still being held together by a thread of civilizing propaganda as opposed to this uncivilizing propaganda.
Working toward pulling it all together again is what is going on even now, amid this turmoil. This work has many dimensions, one of which is quiet protest and another of which is loud protest. Take your pick.
Rodney Hatle, Owatonna
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I stand with the Minneapolis police officers who want to wear garb that reads "Cops for Trump" (" 'Cops for Trump' T-shirts defy uniform ban at political events," Oct. 7). It makes perfect sense since "I'm a taxpayer-funded law enforcement officer who inexplicably supports our corrupt, bigoted, mentally unstable, science-denying, government-fleecing, bone-spurred, national-security-compromising, narcissistic, lying, sociopathic, sexual-assaulter president" would never all fit on the front of a T-shirt.
Steve Mark, Minnetonka
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Trump is coming to pick a fight, Minneapolis. Don't take the bait. Don't fight the hate, fear and violence this man attracts with more of the same. Please, no violence of any kind.
Fighting hate with hate plays into his hands. He'd like nothing better than to see the evening news lead with pictures of tear gas and "rock-throwing Minneapolis commies." Imagine the ads he could run. His rants at these events encourage unbalanced supporters to do things like drive cars into crowds. He will attract thugs. Some of his following may even bring in provocateurs. Don't be provoked. Do protest. Show up in your tens or even hundreds of thousands, but stay calm. Let your numbers and your love of all humanity — even, or especially, those inside Target Center — lead the march. Put on the mantle of Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. Remember, they won.
Still, keep your cellphones out and document everything. Stay safe. God bless. Say "hi" when you see me.
John M. Widen, Minneapolis
INSULIN
No treatment works for all patients
I'm compelled to add one more piece of information to the ongoing discussion regarding the price and availability of insulin in response to the counterpoint commentary dated Oct. 4 from Rep. Jeremy Munson, who is the Minnesota House member who posted a Facebook video describing where to find cheap insulin ("Over-the-counter insulin is a viable option," Oct. 4).
I would like to add information that his letter omitted when he quoted a doctor from Yale School of Medicine as stating that "people with Type 2 diabetes should consider starting with NPH (Walmart) insulin." Munson then quotes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to report that between 90% and 95% of diabetics are Type 2. He infers that most diabetics are able to use the cheaper Walmart insulin.
He fails to acknowledge that most Type 2 diabetics do not need insulin. According to the CDC, as of 2011, only 12% of adults with either type of diabetes use insulin. Another 14% of either type use insulin and oral medication. So, far fewer than 95% of diabetics would be able to consider the cheaper insulin option Munson alludes to.
I'm not a diabetic, but my mother had Type 1 and struggled to control her diabetes for several years. She worked with her doctor to adjust her dosages, timing and diet. Those factors were often a moving target. I discovered this after I stepped in to help her during the last year of her life. As she and I worked to control her blood sugar, the experience was stressful at best and life-threatening at worst.
Munson is providing us with only enough information to support his stance that the solution for most diabetics could be cheaper Walmart insulin. This is far from the actual story.
Sandra Carlin, St. Paul
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As a physician and patient living with Type 1 diabetes for over 17 years, I would certainly disagree with Rep. Munson's assertion that Walmart insulin or generic human insulin is comparable to more modern analogue insulin on multiple levels. It is not a substitute in an emergency situation. The truth is, the medical community has shifted away from using older insulins because the way they work in the body can be erratic. These older insulins can work for specific patients, but for others they often lead to inflexibility and wild swings in high and low blood sugars. The average blood sugar may be the same, balancing extreme highs and lows. However, undisputed is the increased risk of low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia, which can lead to diabetic coma or death. This insulin type is not routinely prescribed and hardly ever prescribed in the Type 1 population for whom daily insulin therapy is essential.
It is dangerous for someone to switch categories of insulin in an emergency, between insurance coverage, or as a buffer. A patient's unfamiliarity can have devastating consequences. Minnesotans have the right to choose to be healthy and safe and have access to lifesaving medication regardless of zip code or paycheck. I support current plans in the Minnesota Legislature to provide an emergency supply of insulin, the type that has been prescribed by diabetics' physicians, to those who cannot afford it otherwise.
Phil Plager, Minneapolis
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