Letters for May 19: No injustice in Voter ID

Self-inflicted suppression

Judging by the title of the article by Christina Cassidy and Ivan Moreno, I expected my privileged, ID-carrying self to be awakened to the egregious injustices voter ID inflicted on the citizens of Wisconsin (“Wisconsin voter ID law proved insurmountable for many,” May 14).

Instead, I was presented with the following: a man from out of state had a year to get a Wisconsin ID, but didn’t; an 85-year-old woman with cancer who wasn’t well enough to travel to a Division of Motor Vehicles to get an ID, and understandably so, but was assumed well enough to travel to the poll to vote; an indecisive millennial who waited until the day before the election to get a Wisconsin ID; an enthusiastic voter who temporarily lost her ID in her bedroom, only to find it days after the election.

Aside from the elderly woman, these all seem to be instances of self-inflicted suppression. I hope that three and a half years is enough time for them and other “disenfranchised” voters to make the arduous journey to the DMV. God speed.

Carly Chapko

Wauwatosa

Kayak safety

Recent headlines tell us about deaths by shootings, drugs and vehicular accident, and, to be sure, they are of concern for us all. Today, however, there are increasing reports of young people (mostly male) dying in kayaking incidents on Lake Michigan and even small inland lakes. In every case of which I am aware, these deaths were (and should have been) preventable.

Those of us who take our kayaking seriously (and we are many in the Midwest) are on Lake Michigan 12 months of the year. To date, we have an excellent safety record and have performed many rescues. We can rescue one another and ourselves.

Obviously, our training and experience partly account for our success. But there are three other factors, crucially lacking among the public, that cause these deaths: boat selection, equipment and dress.

We paddle unique boats called sea kayaks, a design from the Inuit of Greenland. These boats, when paddled by a knowledgeable individual, can handle quite hostile conditions (we go out in six-foot waves). They often cost more than $4,000.

However, members of the public are going out in $300 recreational kayaks that were never meant for open waters such as Lake Michigan or even inland waters when the wind is producing waves.

Tragically, most of the casualties did not have a life jacket, and most who did were not actually wearing it.

Finally, and equally important, is the fact one must dress for immersion. Now that warm weather has arrived, we will again see individuals wearing shorts and T-shirts out on the big lake. They are unaware that a prolonged swim out there (where the water is often below 50 degrees) often causes fatal hypothermia.

Most, if not all, of these deaths could have been avoided had the paddlers dressed properly, kept their rec kayaks on calm inland waters and worn life jackets.

Richard Silberman

Glendale

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