Opinion

We always clearly label Opinion Columns to ensure they won’t be mistaken for news. Our Op-Ed writers apply their professional expertise to our community’s unique challenges to promote innovative thought and encourage healthy discourse.

Opinion: We, the Autistic People, and We, the Homeless People, Have Dreams Just Like Everyone Else

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We The Homeless
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October 28, 2022

Hailed by local musicians as a “genius,” Alissa Johnson is an accomplished cellist and an activist for the human rights of autistic people. She is also homeless. In this piece she argues that her dual experiences as an autistic, and being without shelter, have repeatedly exposed her to interwoven stigma. Supportive systems are needed, she says, not to “fix” people but to partner with them as unique human beings with vibrant dreams.

Latest in Opinion
Opinion: I’m Taking You Behind The Scenes With Shasta County’s Public Servants
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Opinion
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October 25, 2022

Local leadership coach, educator and PhD neuroscientist, Irene Salter, introduces a new monthly column focused on providing a window into the workings of government, at a human level.

Opinion: Why do I call myself a Dragtivist? It’s My Rebellion.
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Other Community Voices
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October 9, 2022

Troy Hawkins is a fixture in Redding’s vibrant Drag Queen scene. He uses this Opinion piece to explain that drag is more than flamboyant performances and ornate wardrobes, it’s a form of activism that he uses to build community and create spaces where people can be their true authentic selves, free of oppression, judgment and the pressure to conform.

Opinion: If Prayer Really Works, Bethel Should Prove It. 
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Other Community Voices
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August 26, 2022

A research group working with Bethel Church to prove that prayer heals people, cites studies that lack evidence-based reasoning. If prayer really works, it’s worth taking the time and money to provide scientific evidence. If we can’t, we shouldn’t be offering false hope.

Temple Beth Israel Responds To Local Antisemitism
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Other Community Voices
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August 17, 2022

"Faith leaders, parishioners, atheists, and total strangers, have expressed their indignation that this kind of hate was left on their doorsteps, and distributed in our community. Instead of feeling isolated, we feel wrapped in the warmth and kindness of strangers."

Opinion: Local Tribe’s Prayer Journey Creates Community that Cares for Rivers, Salmon, and Each Other 
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Opinion
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August 12, 2022

"When we stop in this place we pray 'Come this way.' We pray and we sing, remembering that first time at the confluence, when the runners arrived in the dark, stars sparkling on the river. We could only hear the lapping of the water against the shore. And then in the hushed darkness, up and down the river where we stood lining up on the shore, all the songs started being sung."

Opinion: Extreme Heat Presents Real Threat To Those Living Without Shelter. Shasta County, and Redding, Should Help, Not Harm
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Opinion
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August 5, 2022

Local community group, Shasta County Mutual Aid, describes how excessive heat and lack of accessible shelter and cooling are impacting community members. They fear that the city's newly planned “sweeps” of the unhoused living within the Nur Pon Open Space will exacerbate the current crisis and worsen the danger to life and health.

Opinion: The Recently Closed Club 501 Wasn’t Just Redding’s Only Gay Bar; It was Home
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Opinion
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July 24, 2022

Troy Hawkins, a longtime Redding resident and patron of Club 501, shares some of his poignant memories of the bar many affectionately called “the 5,” and describes what its recent closure means to many of its loyal customers.

Opinion: Who Was Responsible For Uvalde? All Of Us.
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Other Community Voices
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June 12, 2022

Societal issues emerge through a confluence of societal factors shaped by individuals. We exist in communities, we share society, and together, we make America what it is. That’s why effective solutions to the social problem of mass shootings must address the interconnected societal factors that lead to gun violence.

Opinion: My Abortion Story
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Opinion
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May 15, 2022

Stigma around abortion ends when we can talk about it like any other health care choice we make for ourselves – a surgery, a biopsy, physical therapy, a pill. Compassion emerges on both sides when abortion is associated with the faces and names of people you know, love, and care about.