Just Sayin': Let's keep our beaches litter-free

So many bugs are at the beach. Litterbugs, that is. While they don’t bite or sting, they’re still invasive.

Unfortunately, not everyone treats our beautiful beaches with the respect they deserve. Every spring, I enjoy an early-morning walk along the shore. I admire the cleanliness of our beautiful beaches. But as the season unfolds, the amount of trash littered daily gets to be out of control.

On one morning walk, before the clean-up crew arrived, I was especially appalled. Trash was left everywhere. While a trash bin may not be near a person’s blanket, bins are visible as people exit.

It isn’t right to leave empty bottles, cans and other trash — especially soiled diapers — for someone else to clean up. Our beaches deserve common courtesy. We can do better.

— Debbie Castellane, North Massapequa

In 1971, I was impressed with an Earth Day public service commercial on TV. It showed an actor portraying a Native American man exiting a canoe and shedding a tear as he looked over a shoreline littered with trash.

If we could teach our children not to litter as youngsters, it would be a tremendous lesson that could foster a life of respect for the environment. It would have a major impact.

Unfortunately, many of today’s children are learning the bad habits of their parents. That couldn’t be clearer than in the “South Pacific” lyrics that say, “You’ve got to be taught to hate.”

— Anthony Bruno, Babylon

Different views on a Black male in U.S.

As a Black male growing up in this country, I wholeheartedly agree with Tedra Grant’s views [“Thinking about my son’s safety,” Opinion, April 22].

In fact, I once unintentionally entered the wrong apartment and also got into the wrong car. Both instances took place quite a few years ago, when the phenomenon of “shooting first and asking questions later” was not so prevalent. There is a good chance that I might not be alive today had these instances taken place in the current crazy times we find ourselves in.

I cannot help but wonder: Have we as a society become so fearful of the mere sight of a stranger that our first reaction is to arm ourselves and blast away with no thought about the consequences? I would like to think that this is not the case. Unfortunately, the evidence to date seems to indicate otherwise.

— Carlos R. Edwards, Jamaica, Queens

Tedra Grant’s essay was compelling. She described well not only the struggles her son will likely face but also the worries that a mother of a Black son may experience. And that mothers of white sons may not have these same concerns.

However, to blame this unfortunate prejudice on white people seems unfair. People react to or perceive things based on their experiences.

If Black men commit a disproportionate amount of crime, should white people have no emotional reaction or such a perception? Surely, Grant is aware of inner-city crime despite residing in Dix Hills.

To suggest that if her son was advantaged to have been born white, he’d have an easier life is not necessarily realistic. Privilege is unfairly awarded to many based on their appearance, and it’s not just limited to those with white skin.

— Andrew Ross, Smithtown