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Social studies
Re Obama, Trump Bury Hatchet In White House Show Of Unity (Nov. 11): The idea of a gracious and conciliatory Donald Trump hardly squares with the public persona we've been subjected to over the last two years. If history tells us anything, the only place he is likely to bury a hatchet is in somebody's back.
Daniel J. Christie, Port Hope, Ont.
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Trump Denounces U.S. Protesters, Then Praises Their 'Passion' (online, Nov. 11): The protests against Mr. Trump's election are not surprising, given the many controversial statements he made during the campaign. People are anxious. He needs to listen carefully and not antagonize people. He should not be tweeting now. Using two ears, not fingers, would be a good way to start learning.
K. Szabo, Vancouver
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Re After Vote, Accounts Of Racism Abound (Nov. 11): Will someone please remind those nice white people "down there," the ones who are screaming "make America white again," that America was never white in the first place?
Tomson Highway, Gatineau, Que.
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Re The Lesson Of Hillary: Retreat Is Not An Option For Women, (Nov. 11): Marie Henein captures so well the failure to expose Donald Trump as an illegitimate candidate and the unrelenting pressure on Hillary Clinton to prove herself, when she has already done so in ways that should count for political leadership. Thank you for sounding the call to women to carry on.
Ingrid Arnet Connidis, London, Ont.
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I respect Ms. Henein and her encouragement of young women to succeed. However, I cannot agree that Ms. Clinton would be president-elect if she were a man. The Democratic Party essentially anointed an experienced but uninspiring candidate with huge personal baggage and mediocre retail-political skills – because she is a woman and because it was "her turn."
No man with Ms. Clinton's perceived negatives would have survived a competitive nomination process to face an angry electorate hungry for change. There are enough superbly qualified and talented women that we do not need to fall into the trap of tokenism to encourage their success.
Stephen Wiseman, Vancouver
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How touching that Ms. Henein feels concern about what message girls and young women will take away from Ms. Clinton's defeat. I wonder if she had any similar thoughts about the impact on girls and young women of her hard-won acquittal of Jian Ghomeshi? Just as Ms. Clinton's treatment may affect women's willingness to enter politics, Ms. Henein's courtroom handling of Mr. Ghomeshi's accusers sent a clear message to women about the futility of pursuing sexual assault charges.
Heather Ganshorn, Calgary
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Donald Trump owes his victory to Sarah Palin. In 2008, she was dismissed as a redneck whose followers were just a reactionary fringe group. This proved to be a mistake as she developed and championed the idea of "going rogue." She denounced the mainstream media, the Washington establishment, and Wall Street. She fired up crowds with racist rhetoric and gave a voice to the politically incorrect.
Unfortunately, we forgot her movement but Mr. Trump did not; rather he took total credit for it. Could Ms. Palin have revived her message and won this election? I think not. In America, even rogues have to be male. This is a small comfort to Hillary.
Letizia Addario, Toronto
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Re Judge's Pro-Trump Cap Causes Courthouse Uproar (Nov. 11) If a judge had worn a Chicago Cubs cap into court on Nov. 3, the symbolism would have been clear: Hooray, my team finally won. Harmless enough fun.
The symbolism of Ontario Court Justice Zabel's Trump cap on the morning of Nov. 9 is just as clear, but is far from harmless. By design, the courtroom is a symbol-rich setting. After the most hate-filled and divisive U.S. presidential campaign in living memory, his use of this particular symbol demeans the court and cheapens the office he holds.
Alan Buchanan, Meaford, Ont.
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Re Mommy Why Does He Look So Happy? (Life & Arts, Nov. 11) Seriously? You feel the need to tell your four-year-old that "a bad and crazy man has been elected leader of the free world"? Give me a break. This is not a discussion a parent should be having with a four-year-old!
Cathi Shanahan, Roches Point, Ont.
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Valuing values
Sociology professor Vic Satzewich doubts it is possible to identify universal "Canadian values" (What Are 'Canadian Values'? Nov. 11). Perhaps so, but it is certainly possible to identify un-Canadian values for which immigrant screening might be appropriate. For example, the practice or support of female genital mutilation, child marriage, polygamy, religious or sexual discrimination, rejection of religious freedom, violence against or domination of girls and women ... Whether one can properly test for such prejudices is one thing. But surely people with these attitudes and behaviours are not welcome in our land.
Ron Freedman, Toronto
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Pushing Site C
Re Former Premier Calls On NDP To Halt Site C Project (Nov. 8): The B.C. government says the Site C dam is necessary to meet the province's future electricity needs. If so, why is it trying so hard to sell electricity to Alberta? B.C. Energy Minister Bill Bennett says: "Our opportunity is to drive demand. It's to get people to use more electricity."
Shouldn't the government be trying to reduce electricity consumption so that it can avoid building a dam that will cause severe environmental damage and trample on First Nations' rights? Former B.C. premier Mike Harcourt is correct that Site C is a disaster that should be stopped.
Ralph Davis, Delta, B.C.
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He's our man
Re Leonard Cohen, 1934-2016 (Nov. 11): Leonard Cohen's words were always steeped in multiple layers of innuendo. One cannot help but wonder if he chose to exit the world the same week as the U.S. presidential election was decided.
After all, he is the guy who wrote: "Everybody knows that the war is over. Everybody knows the good guys lost. Everybody knows the fight was fixed. The poor stay poor, the rich get rich ..."
Thor Kuhlmann, Vancouver
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So sad to say goodbye to one of Canada's iconic voices. He was more poet than singer, a visionary and a master of melancholy, and he loved women with a profound respectful worship.
Barbara Ramsay Orr, Burlington, Ont.
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Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition." Leonard Cohen should have at least shared that prize. The Nobel prize can be shared, but cannot be awarded posthumously (unless death occurs after announcement of the prize). Too late now.
Irv Salit, Toronto