Letters

Word view

Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review.

The cover story this week is a typically great feature from our news ace, Dennis Myers. He dives into the history of gay Nevada, as told in author Dennis McBride’s new book, OutoftheNeonCloset.

In the story, Dennis mentions that some readers might find McBride’s “free use of the term queer jarring.” This caught my eye, because to me, queerwas long ago reclaimed by the gay community as positive and self-affirming—or, at the very least, a neutral term. “Queer studies” has been an academic discipline for decades.

It got me thinking about how so many of these terms—the ones used to classify, separate and distinguish people—not coincidentally began life as pejoratives, as insults to be flung.

It can be difficult to keep up with what terms are considered socially acceptable or politically correct. There’s some value in this. Language should be reevaluated. It’s a work in progress, subject to constant revision. And sometimes language choice can reveal prejudices (just think of Donald Trump’s obnoxious, tone-deaf Tweet last year: “The best taco bowls are made in Trump Tower Grill. I love Hispanics!”).

But I also sometimes wonder if peaceful messages are sometimes lost because the writers used the wrong terms. As when parents don’t think TheAdventuresofHuckleberry Finnshould be taught in school because of its racially charged language.

In general, we at the RN&R try to stay current. We mostly follow Associated Press guidelines, but sometimes we try to be more progressive—AP was still capitalizing “Internet” until last year.

And sometimes it’s tough to make the right calls. Should “gay” be used as a noun or just an adjective? How many letters can be appended to LGBTQIA+ without it becoming a joke? Now that the Washington Post has adopted “they” as a gender-neutral third-person pronoun, should we follow suit?

Many marijuana advocates now prefer the term cannabisinstead of marijuana, but personally, I like reefer.

Heller no

Sen. Dean Heller has supported 100 percent of the President’s agenda since he has taken office. Nevada is no longer a “Red” state. He owes it to his voting constituents to listen to their concerns and act accordingly regardless of party affiliation.

Sen. Heller’s unwavering support of unqualified, inexperienced and dangerous prospective cabinet appointees like Senator Sessions and Betsy DeVos will result in irreparable damage to our country. By ignoring the will of the people he is building a deficit that will eventually come due. When it does, all the big money on God’s green earth will not help him. If he cannot acknowledge and support legitimate objections to legislation that harms the people of Nevada such as the Stream Protection Rule we will work to support someone who listens to the people of Nevada.

William Fraser Reno

Trump yes

I realize everyone has a right to their opinion, and it is my view that I am becoming quite sick of people trashing President Trump, when they should be thanking him for even wanting to take up the unbelievably arduous job of reducing the size of D.C.’s bloated bureaucracy!

Trump does not need the money, or the enormous added stress, or the fantastic amount of insults, and scrutiny thrown at him constantly. The fact is that Washington D.C. has become way too top heavy! Thanks to years of all so-called self-enriching, career-politicians, and political dynasties, followed by two terms of an arrogant president, whose arguably failed policies, and whose genuine interests in America were ‘questionable’ at best, not to mention countless failed trade deals, dangerously porous borders, endless wars, and a reckless foreign policy.

The federal government has become hugely in debt, and at the same time, has grown severely lopsided. Now, sadly, it is representative mostly of its ever-growing party of political elites, and not (we) the people, that it was originally designed to serve. Are people truly happy with the fact the some of the richest zip codes in our country now surround our nation’s capital? How about the hundreds of billions of dollars a year currently being wasted on completely unnecessary federal positions, programs, committees and studies? Did you ever stop to think about where almost 10 trillion dollars has gone in eight years?

So come on, America! Let’s give it up with all this protesting, fake news, and “the sky is falling” rhetoric, and try to come together to give this legally elected new President, a chance!

Joseph David Sparks

Trump no

All right, class. Please pick up your no. 2 lead pencils. You’ll have 15 minutes to answer the following yes or no questions—starting now. 1. Is Donald Trump the type of person who might say “torture is good, torture works”? 2. Is Donald Trump the type of person that would perceive any negative media attention toward him as “false news”? 3. Should we, as a country, be very apprehensive for the next 4 years? 4. Is Donald Trump the type of person who will never allow the general public to see his tax returns due to a perpetual audit? 5. Is Donald Trump the type of person who would oddly feel a certain simpatico with a ruthless thug named Putin, but be willing to sever ties with Mexico? 6. Is Donald Trump the type of person who might be likely to spend millions on a probe regarding nonexistent voter fraud? 7. Is Donald Trump the type of person who might obsess about

Inauguration Day crowd size? 8. Does Donald Trump suffer from a severe case of Islamophobia? 9. Is Donald Trump egomaniacal, delusional and almost certainly a wannabe dictator?

Time’s up, class. Please put your pencils down. If you answered yes to all the questions you’ve scored 100 percent. Congratulations! You’re very astute!

Mark Murray Reno

ERIK HOLLAND

Our Mission: To publish great newspapers that are successful and enduring. To create a quality work environment that encourages employees to grow professionally while respecting personal welfare. To have a positive impact on our communities and make them better places to live. Editor Brad Bynum News Editor Dennis Myers Special Projects Editor Jeri Chadwell-Singley Arts Editor Kris Vagner Calendar Editor Kelley Lang Contributors Amy Alkon, Matt Bieker, Bob Grimm, Anna Hart, Ashley Hennefer, Shelia Leslie, Josie Luciano, Eric Marks, Jessica Santina, Todd South, Marc Tiar, Brendan Trainor, Bruce Van Dyke, Allison Young Design Manager Lindsay Trop Creative Director Serene Lusano Art Directors Brian Breneman, Margaret Larkin Marketing/Publications Designer Sarah Hansel Production Coordinator Skyler Smith Designer Kyle Shine Sales Manager Emily Litt RN&R Rainmaker Gina Odegard Advertising Consultants Brit Johnson, Myranda Keeley Distribution Director Greg Erwin Distribution Manager/Operations Coordinator Kelly Miller Distribution Assistant and Driver Jennifer Cronin Distribution Drivers Alex Barskyy, Bob Christensen, Debbie Frenzi, Gary White, Jennifer Gangestad, Lori Ashley, Lori DeAndreis, Marty Lane, Marty Troye, Patrick L’Angelle, Tracy Breeden, Vicki Jewell

President/CEO Jeff VonKaenel Director of Nuts & Bolts Deborah Redmond Executive Coordinator Carlyn Asuncion Project Coordinator Natasha VonKaenel Director of People & Culture David Stogner Director of Dollars & Sense Nicole Jackson Payroll/AP Wizard Miranda Dargitz Sweetdeals Coordinator Courtney DeShields Developer John Bisignano, Jonathan Schultz System Support Specialist Kalin Jenkins N&R Publications Editor Michelle Carl N&R Publications Associate Editor Kate Gonzales N&R Publications Writer Anne Stokes

Cover Design: Brian Breneman 405 Marsh Ave., Third Floor, Reno, NV 89509 Phone (775) 324-4440 Fax (775) 324-2515 Website www.newsreview.com Got a News Tip? Fax (775) 324-2515 Calendar Events www.newsreview.com/calendar Want to Advertise? Fax (775) 324-2515 or rnradinfo@newsreview.com Classified Fax (916) 498-7910 or classifieds@newsreview.com Job Opportunities jobs@newsreview.com Want to Subscribe to RN&R? renosubs@newsreview.com

Editorial Policies: Opinions expressed in rn&r are those of the authors and not of Chico Community Publishing, Inc. Contact the editor for permissions to reprint articles, cartoons, or other portions of the paper. rn&r is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or review materials. Email letters to rnrletters@ newsreview.com. all letters received become the property of the publisher. We reserve the right to print letters in condensed form and to edit them for libel.

Advertising Policies: all advertising is subject to the newspaper’s Standards of acceptance. The advertiser and not the newspaper assumes the responsibility for the truthful content of their advertising message.

rn&r is printed at Sierra nevada media on recycled newsprint. Circulation of rn&r is verified by the Circulation Verification Council. rn&r is a member of CnPa, aan and aWn.