Letter to the editor

In a recent edition of the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung, guest columnist Bryan Feltner made a rather nonsensical argument that not all mosquitoes carry the zika virus, but as all zika virus is carried by mosquitoes it follows that as not all Muslims are terrorists but all terrorists are Muslims, therefore they must be banned from entering the country. He then made a rather condescending remark about those opposing a travel ban not remembering 9/11. This provoked me to write a rare letter to the editor, which appeared in today's edition. Alas, my letter was edited by hands other than mine, which truncated some of my heartfelt nuance. Here is the original version in its entirety.

In his guest column of February 7, Bryan Feltner asks, "Have these people forgotten 9/11?" I can't speak for anyone else, but sadly, I remember that awful day quite well.

I remember that none of the hijackers were refugees.

I remember that very few of them were women and children fleeing civil war.

I remember that all of the hijackers were Saudi Arabian nationals, a country which is curiously absent from the current administration's travel ban.

I remember that the San Bernardino shooter was a natural-born U.S. citizen and his wife was a Pakistani from Saudi Arabia. Again, both countries omitted from the travel ban.

I remember that the Boston Marathon bombers were ethnic Chechens from Soviet Union territories. Again, no travel ban.

I remember the Orlando nightclub shooter was a natural-born U.S. citizen.

I also remember a few tragedies Mr. Feltner seems to have forgotten.

I remember on June 17, 2015, a white supremacist gunned down nine people, including a state senator, in a Charleston, South Carolina church.

I remember on January 30 of this year a white supremacist gunned down 6 people and wounded eight more in a Quebec Islamic center.

I remember the Oklahoma City bombing from 1995 that killed 168 and injured more than 600, carried out by U.S. born right wing extremists who hoped to forment revolution.

To quote H.L. Mencken, "For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong." Mr. Feltner does not want security, he wants the illusion of security, clad in the guise of decisive action. It is a childhood wish-fulfillment, akin to mommy and daddy making the bad man go away and telling their special little snowflake that everything will be okay.

What a timid little mouse of a man. If his life is so ruled by fear, I will happily buy him a nightlight, because I have it on good authority it is 100 percent effective at keeping the boogie man at bay.

Sincerely,

Jayme Blaschke
New Braunfels, TX

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