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Letters must be received by noon Friday for inclusion in the following week’s paper. Please limit letters to 250 words. Submission does not guarantee publication. Opinions printed here do not constitute an editorial endorsement of said opinions.

Last week’s Opinion piece, “New Code Changes,” listed parking minimums based on Oregon's model code and not the City of Bend's new code. Additionally, the City Council's next meeting was listed as Sept. 30, but it is on Oct. 6. We regret the errors.

Barry Washington Junior. Say. His. Name.

Barry Washington Junior.

Another soul another boy another boy’s life another mother’s baby another father’s son, another name, another black body.

“It wasn’t police this time.” Wasn’t it, though?

Define police—do police only come in uniforms? In cars and stations?

Or do they come in raised pickups with American flags, blue lives matter decals, code for: We’re watching, aka we’re policing.

Policing is: anything, anyone, that serves and protects White Supremacy. Serves and protects White Leniency. The perp, he got out. Out on $10,000 bail. His gun probably costs as much.

Policing is your body believing, that it needs a gun to dance. Needs a gun to protect your jealousy your fragility when someone dares compliment your girlfriend.

How dare he?! Bang bang! ::sirens:: Silence. White silence. Bend’s silence. A culture of violence of fear underneath all that Patagonia, inside your sprinter vans, your REI tents.

“But we vote blue! Or purple, at least.”

Words mean nothing anymore, haven’t you heard? Radical change, policy, is the language we speak. And we can’t understand you. We can’t hear you.

Will you learn our language? This way there’s no more miscommunication, no more Black, brown, trans, immigrant bodies.

In Bend.

—Avery Grace

We understand President Biden is busy. Between foreign policy crises, infrastructure and the COVID-19 pandemic, he has a lot on his hands.

But I can’t help thinking about how his support for abolishing the filibuster in the Senate could help him enact his agenda on all fronts. Most importantly, it could help Biden protect Americans’ freedom to vote in the face of relentless attacks on our democracy.

We need Congress to pass comprehensive voting rights reform and we need Biden to step up and put pressure on the Senate to do so by publicly supporting an end to the filibuster. Biden’s stated support for voting rights reform simply isn’t enough.

President Biden, for the sake of my right to vote and the progressive agenda we elected you to enact, urge the Senate to abolish the filibuster. —Courtney Coburn

Although we live in an area with cold and snowy weather, it seems like very few folks park their cars in their garage (and it seems most if not all of the newer subdivisions have homes with garages). Maybe it’s time for all of us to do a hard look at all of our stuff and do a good purge so less cars are on the streets to begin with. —Jenn Nelson, via bendsource.com innocent until proven guilty.

A white Attorney General will deny that racism is a factor.

A white prosecutor will determine the parameters of the case.

A white public defender will be appointed to represent the black man.

A jury of predominately white people will be selected for a trial.

The black man will be sentenced by a white judge to be imprisoned for life or executed in States with the death penalty.

That is the historical record when a black man is accused of killing a white man.

How will the justice system function when an unarmed black man is murdered by a white man in our community? Will there be justice for the black man and his family or will white racism prevail?

STOP KILLING BLACK PEOPLE. JUSTICE MATTERS.

—Sue Bastian

A white man murdered an unarmed black man.

What would happen if the situation were reversed?

The historical record is clear on the consequences of what would happen if a black man murders a white man.

The black man will be killed on the spot or cops will either kill or brutalize and incarcerate him when they arrive.

The black man will have zero possibility of bail and will not be deemed

Thanks for your perspective, Sue. You get letter of the week! —Nicole Vulcan