Why fear my vote?<\/p>\n
Re: \u201cAbbott signs off on new districts \u2014 GOP\u2019s congressional remap could help keep House control in 2026,\u201d Saturday news stor<\/a>y.<\/p>\n Texas legislators just signed gerrymandered district maps into law. I have to ask them \u2014 why are you so scared of me?<\/p>\n I\u2019ve lived here for decades. I\u2019ve paid taxes since I was 16. I\u2019ve created jobs, followed the law, uplifted community members and fed the homeless. I\u2019ve done everything that should make me a valued Texan. And yet, as an immigrant, my very existence is treated as something to fear.<\/p>\n Opinion<\/p>\n Get smart opinions on the topics North Texans care about.<\/p>\n By signing up, you agree to our\u00a0Terms of Service<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n I was born in South Africa, where people like me were barred from voting simply because of the color of our skin. The world agreed in 1994 that apartheid was a shameful relic of the past. Yet here in Texas in 2025, our leaders seem intent on repeating history \u2014 redrawing maps to silence communities like mine.<\/p>\n So tell me: What power do I have that terrifies you so much? Why is equality in voting impossible to grant? Our country is great because it puts power in the hands of the people. That\u2019s the foundation of democracy. <\/p>\n The Founding Fathers trusted the people \u2014 not politicians \u2014 with that power. So why are you crushing those pillars with gerrymandered maps?<\/p>\n Maybe the truth is simple: You know we deserve a voice, and you\u2019re scared we\u2019ll use it.<\/p>\n Chanda Parbhoo, Dallas<\/p>\n We are ignoring Gaza<\/p>\n Re: \u201cThe Consequences of Ignorance \u2014 We cannot ignore what\u2019s happening in Gaza,\u201d by Christopher de Vinck, Saturday Opinion<\/a>.<\/p>\n De Vinck writes, \u201cWe cannot ignore what is happening in Gaza.\u201d Sadly, Mr. de Vinck, as a nation, I\u2019m afraid we already have.<\/p>\n Keith Hartline, Denison<\/p>\n The price of detention centers<\/p>\n A Miami judge recently ruled that an immigration detention center dubbed \u201cAlligator Alcatraz\u201d must close. According to President Donald Trump, a Florida resident, he is interested in erecting detention centers in other states. <\/p>\n Florida taxpayers are now on the hook for $218 million the state spent, in haste, to transform a training airport into the South Florida Detention Facility smack in the Everglades. <\/p>\n This fiasco only reinforces the perception that the Sunshine State is known as \u201cFloriduh.\u201d<\/p>\n David Myles, Aventura, Fla.<\/p>\n Call Chinese Embassy<\/p>\n Re: \u201cFreedom Dying in Hong Kong \u2014 Hope for publisher dwindles unless Trump can win his release from China,” Thursday editorial<\/a>.<\/p>\n Thank you for this editorial. Jimmy Lai is an amazing person. I urge readers to watch the documentary The Hong Konger. Perhaps then they will feel moved, as I did, to call the Chinese Embassy at 202-495-2266 and urge his release.<\/p>\n Kit Odom, Carrollton<\/p>\n Tragedy in Hong Kong<\/p>\n It is, as you pointed out in this editorial, a tragedy in Hong Kong. It\u2019s a wonderful city I have visited many times. I took my wife there near the end of its freedom. <\/p>\n The spineless leaders in Britain, the United States and the West allowed the tragedy. Sorry, Hong Kong, I\u2019m not returning. Nor to Beijing, Shanghai or Baotou. Love you, but it\u2019s over.<\/p>\n David Baran, Southlake<\/p>\n Fear loss of CDC experts <\/p>\n While this editorial regarding loss of freedom in Hong Kong is important and the one about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce is charming, where is the concern from the Editorial Board about the decimation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention? We are losing our experts in infectious disease and public health, leaving us vulnerable to the next Ebola, COVID, influenza and yet unknown pandemics.<\/p>\n Edward L. Goodman, MD, Melvin R. Platt, MD; Steven Levy, DDS; all of Dallas<\/p>\n About Democrats …<\/p>\n