Letters to the Editor | Dec. 3, 2024

I doubt Philadelphia’s identity is tied up in the Sixers, or any professional sports team. How did the city suffer when the Warriors moved to San Francisco in 1972? (And I doubt their name change to Golden State harmed San Francisco’s national or self-image.) How much did New Orleans suffer when the Jazz moved to Salt Lake City? Was Brooklyn hurt when the Dodgers left, or was Manhattan when the Giants did? Is the Bronx a better place because the Yankees play there? The NFL’s Patriots and Commanders don’t play in Boston or Washington. Once upon a time, the Packers essentially had a second home field in Milwaukee. Los Angeles went for 22 years without an NFL team. Philadelphia didn’t earn its World Heritage City designation because of a basketball team.

Larry Moore, Rosemont

I applaud The Inquirer and Helen Ubiñas for her column on the preposterous hiring of three convicted former elected officials (Willie Singletary, Leslie Acosta, and Movita Johnson-Harrell) to expensive (to the taxpayer), cushy jobs in city government. Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s spokesperson, Joe Grace, declares that the administration supports second chances. In this case, the taxpayers of Philadelphia are supporting three people — who violated the public trust — to the tune of more than a quarter million dollars a year. To add insult to injury, one of the convicted officials, Johnson-Harrell, landed a job with the justifiably much-maligned office of Sheriff Rochelle Bilal. How appropriate. There is no way to view Parker and Bilal’s behavior in this instance as anything other than contempt for the citizens who voted them into office. Shame.

Angelo Sgro, Philadelphia, agsgro@comcast.net

It is a mystery to me. Pundits and commentators talk endlessly about the various reasons why the Democrats were literally swept under the rug in almost every state, but they ignore that the Republican campaign focused on the role of men and women in our culture. Donald Trump told the voters to “man up” and vote for the only man in the campaign. The message hit home with enough people to give Trump the win. The most attention-getting story was the Arnold Palmer anatomy reference. No need to repeat it here. The campaign hammered on the feeling of masculinity.

The male pitch was obvious, but why did so many women join in the vote for Trump when he has told women they should behave like it was 1950? I am attributing what happened to the female vote as an expression of Stockholm syndrome. A big enough segment of the female voter bloc apparently agreed with the male-is-boss pitch. They voted for the man who brags about grabbing women’s genitals and abrogates women’s rights. Trump has told everyone, repeatedly, that he will be a dictator on Day One. Apparently, he is not waiting until Jan. 20 to start tearing down the greatest democracy in the history of mankind.

Jerry Reidy, Conshohocken, greidy@comcast.net

As a fan of college football, I was disgusted by the game announcers constantly using the word hate to describe the competition between the teams playing on rivalry weekend. Given the multiple telecasts that used this term, it almost had to be a decision made by higher-ups at the broadcast and streaming companies. As a society, I thought we were working to eliminate hate, not promote it.

Michael D. Byrnes, Philadelphia

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