To the editor:

This letter is a response to an incredibly uninformed letter regarding the COVID-19 pandemic submitted earlier this week by a reader.

The reader in question claims in their letter that those who believe in the observable fact that is evolution, whom said reader terms “evolutionists,” ought to “permit the pandemic to do its thing and let the weakest of people perish.” This carries the confusing and incorrect assumption that survival of the fittest is something that people believe ought to happen, rather than something people simply believe happens.

Simply claiming the sky is blue does not amount to claiming the sky ought to be blue, nor does it amount to claiming the reverse; it simply amounts to claiming that it is how it is.

The reader also claims that overpopulation is “unsustainable according to experts” and “has been the world’s top environmental issue since the mid 1960s,” despite the fact that most experts agree population growth will slow down over time and the global population will even off around 10 billion at its peak.

The reader delightfully non-sequiturs into an offhand comment about “looting and disrespect for our heritage including the American flag,” likely referring to the ongoing protests against the systemic racism and police brutality that has claimed the lives of numerous people of color across the country for its entire history.

It may be difficult to imagine in a small white-majority town such as Houghton that systemic racism exists, but I can guarantee it is not at all that hard for the loved ones of George Floyd to imagine such.

It is quite easily provable that the vast majority of actual dedicated Black Lives Matter protesters do not participate in looting, and the vast majority of looters are simply opportunists who are using the protests as a smokescreen to avoid getting caught as easily.

The reader goes on to say that Christians ought to be spreading the gospel in these difficult times. It of course is your constitutional right to do so, not just amidst a pandemic, but at any time you please. However, it would likely be prudent for any self-proclaimed pious Christian to support the efforts to slow the spread of the virus and treat those who have been infected.

The Bible has numerous passages about Jesus healing the sick, and while your average everyday 21st century mortal may not have Christlike healing powers, we do have social distancing, masks, and modern medicine, all of which help reduce suffering in these trying times, which one would think most Christians would support using to lessen suffering during a global pandemic.