Apology demanded
To the editor:
I am appalled that the Bainbridge Island Review printed a story by a person not even a part of our community that espoused hate against trans people. This was not an opinion piece. This was a hate piece. The author claimed faulty science and myopic views about gender.
Did you know that multiple young trans kids have been hospitalized in our city in the past few weeks for suicidal ideation because of trans hate? And now you go and print this kind of drivel in your newspaper? Can you even imagine what blood you could have on your hands if a vulnerable child picks up and reads that article and ends their life because of it?
My subscription to the newspaper was just automatically renewed, however I demand a refund and immediate cancellation if you do not retract that article alongside an apology to the community at once, with a commitment to never posting that kind of hateful and harmful drivel again in your publication. The Bainbridge Review used to stand up for marginalized people. Shame on you. If I do not hear from you, I will pursue this issue through legal channels.
Bea Crook
Bainbridge
Gender identity valid
To the editor:
I’m writing about the opinion piece on trans women that was carried by the Bainbridge Island Review this last week.
In my history of advocating for the LGBTQ+ community I have run into many people who think like that woman. People that think in binaries and are unable to grapple with complex thoughts. Her perspective overlooks the lived experiences and identities of many individuals who identify as women, regardless of their gender assigned at birth. I would expect that from a publication that doesn’t care or understand its readership. Your job as an editor is to understand and care about your readership.
Gender identity is a deeply personal and intrinsic part of who a person is and for trans women, their identity as a woman is just as valid and as real as it is for you or I. Denying this is harmful and alienating, and it can contribute to the marginalization and discrimination that trans individuals often face.
But something tells me you don’t give a s—- about them.
Rory Jansen
Bainbridge
Why Flowers?
To the editor:
Why do you have bigots like Christine Flowers writing in your paper? She clearly has no knowledge of the issues she speaks on. This isn’t information, it’s propaganda. I am disappointed in this fake “journalism.” Hire actual experts instead of jerks who have an agenda of hate.
Mae McWorter
Bainbridge
Reject cuts to SNAP, Medicaid
To the editor:
I am outraged that Congress is considering proposals to take food assistance and healthcare away from people to pay for tax cuts for the rich. At a time with rising food prices, Congress must not consider cuts to SNAP whether by reducing the already modest daily benefit of $6.20/day to just $4.80 for 41 million people who received benefits in 2024 or by limiting beneficiary’s benefits to only 3 months out of 3 years if they can’t document a certain amount of work hours or document they’re exempt.
The House budget proposes deep cuts to Medicaid ($880 billion) that will harm enrollees, including millions of children, people with disabilities, and elderly low-income people. Nearly 1/4 of people nationwide receive Medicaid. This will lead to lives lost.
Nancy Taylor
Bainbridge
Save surplus property
To the editor:
It is rare that one can help three worthy public or charitable agencies and all Bainbridge citizens with just one donation, but we can do so now. The BI School District needs money to make up a very substantial deficit next year. It proposes selling 39 acres purchased for it through a levy in the late 1980s or early 1990s. That land is now an integral and substantial addition to the Grand Forest East, owned and operated by BI Parks and Recreation.
BI Land Trust and Parks want to purchase the property, and/or its development rights, and permanently preserve it as part of the Grand Forest. The land trust needs more capital to accomplish this worthwhile goal. Every donation to the land trust will help get the property to Parks, fund the school district’s need for capital and preserve this beautiful, natural land for Bainbridge citizens, horses, dogs and wildlife forever. That is a win-win-win-win for everyone concerned.
Franc Fischer
Bainbridge
