Former school board chair on Michele Morrow: ‘Violent rhetoric disqualifies you’ | Opinion

The author is former chair, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education

The person elected to lead the public schools of North Carolina ought to serve as a role model for the children of our state.

Michele Morrow, a statewide candidate for North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction, has called for the death of multiple public figures who hold political views different from her own.

This is alarming. If elected, she would oversee all public schools in North Carolina. She would set an example for 1.5 million schoolchildren. She would be responsible for their safety and well-being.

WCNC’s Ben Thompson asked Morrow last week about social media posts in which she proposed executing President Biden and former President Obama. He compared this to the problem of online bullying in our schools.

In the past, she has excused such statements as “sarcastic.” In this particular interview, she rationalized: “It is not bullying as a private citizen.”

As a former school board chair, I know what happens when students are caught posting online threats: They face serious consequences. Excuses like “I said that as a private citizen” or “I was being sarcastic” would not fly. We should expect at least the same level of accountability from candidates asking for our votes.

Let’s send all candidates a message: Violent rhetoric disqualifies you from our votes. We owe this to our children.

Elyse Dashew, Charlotte

Presidential rhetoric

Republican accusations that Democrats’ rhetoric is causing unhinged individuals to attempt to assassinate former President Trump are disturbing.

If their point is that all sides should tone down the rhetoric, fair enough. But how can that be their point if their candidate for president repeatedly refers to his opponents as “communists” and “radical Marxist leftists” and constantly asserts that a Democratic victory would mean that we “won’t have a country anymore”? Not a peep from most Republican electeds about that.

Pat McCoy, Charlotte

Morehead Inn

Forty years ago this month, I opened The Morehead Inn on Morehead Street as Charlotte’s first “country inn.”

Since then it has been the premier destination for all kinds of people to stay, from Bob Hope during the historic two weeks of Jimmy Carter’s first Habitat builds, to Romare Bearden, DG Martin and his monthly broadcasts, and countless weddings, parties and executive meetings.

Now hemmed in at the edge of Dilworth by big buildings, I encourage, no, I beg the leaders of Charlotte to help prevent icons of Charlotte’s history like this one from being destroyed for yet another apartment building.

Historic properties like the 1916 Coddington estate, now Morehead Inn, must be saved if there is to be any “character” left in the city.

Nancy C. Bryant, Norwood

Protecting children

Recent assassination close calls have some in Congress demanding more government spending to protect our political class. Meanwhile, the gun carnage continues unabated for American school children. Politicians and judges have decided nothing meaningful can be done to restrict the rights of mentally deranged people to have military-style assault weapons.

Isn’t it time to protect the right to life of children after birth when they go to school? Since the Constitution allegedly allows nothing practical to restrict assault weapons, we need a massive expansion of government spending on the Secret Service to protect the lives of every school child in America.

Ed Hinson, Charlotte

Housing tension

Thank you for your Sept. 15 opinion piece relating to building industry. There is clearly not enough discussion in the public sphere regarding two contradictory forces that are occurring the industry that has a great impact on residential development.

I do not believe the general public or even residential real estate professionals realize there is a conflict between the political pressure of reducing building costs as to produce lower cost housing and international, Federal, State and Local regulatory forces that impact building costs.

Lewis Zwick, Mint Hill