Listeners share reactions to deadly Seattle shooting

Downtown Seattle shooting leaves one dead, seven injured

A failure of elected leaders

Dori, I am a liberal Democrat from New England. I have lived here for 30 years. Last night I decided I will only vote for Republicans until our beloved city of Seattle has been cleaned up. The liberals in Seattle have allowed the mentally ill and addicted to hold us all hostage. I am an active foster parent, so I am not looking at this from a distance. Enough.

– Catherine in Poulsbo

This shooting isn’t about guns, race, or any social ills. It is a failure of governance, pure and simple. Those men should have been in prison. And please, can they show me how gun ordinances would have prevented that? Gun control is a red herring. We need to spend the time and money on criminal control. But it’s hard to know how any Seattle citizens can change the tide of bad government in Seattle.

– Cathi in Algona

Dori, it is so refreshing to hear you call out Jenny Durkan and Inslee on their nonsense response to the shooting on Third and Pine between two gang members who are prohibited from having guns. Ironically, today the Washington State Senate voted out of committee the bill to ban large capacity magazines. In 1994, I helped gather signatures for the “hard time for armed crime” initiative that was supposed to give a mandatory five years additional time to anyone using a gun in the commission of a crime. Unfortunately, we have judges who refuse to apply this law.

– Ben in Bothell

I love how Mayor Durkan states that the subjects are armed and extremely dangerous, and should not be approached. What were they the day before the shooting? Exactly! Why were they on the streets?

– Judy in Seattle

I am a 32.5-year retired SPD Officer. I was on the Seattle Police Officers Guild Board of Directors for over 16 years. I have been retired a little over four years (thank God). I read your letter tonight and want to say … you were spot on. I only wish more in the local media would have the guts to say what you said. I fear for what the morons in charge have done to the city that I gave 32.5 years of blood and sweat to protect. I refuse to go into the city anymore and can say I have been into it less than five times in the last four years (and I live in Renton). I want to thank you for saying what I have been saying, along with the vast majority of the good officers still employed by SPD. What I fear is that the up-and-coming newbie officers will no idea how to do proactive policing, and once the last of us “old timers” are gone, there will be no one to teach them. Thanks for standing up and saying what you did. You have a new fan … me.

– Randy in Renton

Hits close to home

My granddaughter was on lock-down in Nordstrom last night. She was just minutes from heading to that corner to catch the bus. This absolutely shakes me to the core. The voters have proven in the last election that the only thing more evil than innocent people dying in the streets is having a conservative in office. Jenny Durkan is an absolute farce. I could have predicted that whole news conference. We knew last night before they told us who the suspects were that they would have a ticker tape of convictions. This is beyond the animals running the zoo. The animals would do a better job.

– Lois

Downtown has changed

I used to work downtown, many years ago and used to occasionally go to the McDonald’s as well as the Bartell Drug and even Westlake Center. At that time, 12 years ago, I did not feel unsafe walking around, to my car or bus, or even on a daily walk for exercise. I would never be able to do this today. I feel sorry for the innocent people out there in the city today. We definitely need to take back our city.

– K. in Lynnwood

Uber/Lyft were wrong to take advantage of crisis situation

Surge pricing is how we (Uber drivers) make our money. However, that being said, after yesterday’s shooting, I wasn’t going to stick around in Seattle. I was going back to Tacoma and going home. I think it’s absolutely wrong to have surge pricing during a time of crisis, and yes, my companies shouldn’t have done that. That’s my personal opinion.

– The 253

Dori, do you think it’s okay for Uber to gouge customers because of an emergency? Home improvement companies got in trouble for that when they gouged customers for plywood and other supplies before and after hurricanes. It’s now illegal to do so. It’s not “free market,” as you put it. It’s criminal.

– The 253

Pole vaulting to success

Human achievement … nothing better to witness. Thank you, Dori, for that great pole vaulter interview. It actually brought tears to my eyes while listening, and I’m a guy. Do more stories like this.

– The 206

Thanks for highlighting a record-setting pole vaulter on today’s show. My cousin is an Olympic medalist in women’s pole vault. It is a sport that does not get much media attention, so it was very nice to hear your feature. You should do more segments like that, especially when you can feature local athletes that are achieving great things.

– Stacey in Freeland

Dori, I’m an old track guy. Thanks for interviewing Olivia. Let’s watch for her in the Olympic trials!

– Kevin

New law mandates sex ed for every grade

Dori, Reykdal and his ilk will rationalize every dang point. It’s absolutely disgusting. You couldn’t pay me enough to have kids again these days.

– Sean in Seattle

Creating hardships for teachers

Dori is missing the point. It’s not the students and parents who are being controlled, for now. It’s about controlling the teachers. If they want to opt out of teaching extra curricular material, they can be fired.

– Thomas in Seattle

It’s not a cult

On the kids and body parts conversations — there’s nothing “cultlike” about it. Those are the parts people have. Now, I honestly don’t know if kindergartners know those particular terms, but they should know the rest. Also, most girls do have certain parts and most boys have certain parts. These days, not all have the same parts since many have changed genders. No one is telling kids to change their genders. They’re informing them that this is the way the world is. Just because you don’t like that doesn’t make it wrong.

– E.M. in Tukwila

Nordstrom boots Salvation Army

Dori, I mostly side with your comments and views, but I was a little taken a back on your stand on one subject, the Salvation Army bell ringers in front of Nordstrom. Like you, I wish for all the homeless people who want it, to have a bed and a warm place to sleep at night. I hear what you are saying about the Salvation Army providing that for the homeless. Look, I’m part of the LGBTQ community, and love the fact that straight people are funding them. But please, stand in the shoes of discriminated groups of peoples, whatever group you are most connected to. And imagine that every time you walk into and out of your place of work, you see someone representing an entity that thinks less of you and does not support you.

– Laura in Normandy Park

Listen to the Dori Monson Show weekday afternoons from 12-3 p.m. on KIRO Radio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.