Features
Letters to the Editor
PROGRESSIVES
Editors, Daily Planet:
Supporters of Lenora Moore call themselves “progressive.” They don’t seem to realize that their attitude has caused the declining of progressivism during the last few decades.
If “progressives” support policies that perpetuate crime, drug-dealing, and unsafe neighborhoods, then most Americans will vote for conservatives.
Andrea Prichett says we should look for the root causes or systemic causes of drug dealing in south Berkeley. I suggest that one of those root causes is her own “progressive” belief that people not responsible for their own behavior, that their problems are the fault of the system.
Only in Berkeley! In other cities where people have used small claims court to free their neighborhoods from drug dealer, I have not heard about “progressives” trying to keep the drug dealers in the neighborhood. Let’s hope this news does not get out of Berkeley, because it will just provide more ammunition for conservatives.
Charles Siegel
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RAUBER AND CRITICS
Editors, Daily Planet:
It boggles the mind.
Liberal journalist Paul Rauber is lead plaintiff in a civil suit against a neighbor, Lenora Moore, suing her for damages related to the criminal behavior (of her relatives and others) in their neighborhood.
The critics of this lawsuit charge that Rauber and company are trying to force Moore out of her home and that their logic is one of collective punishment. In his most recent letter to the editor, Rauber offers his rebuttal.
Rauber claims that it is false that the stated intent of the lawsuit is to force Moore to sell her property. “Before we filed our suit, we told her that if she would sell her house and leave the neighborhood, we would drop the action,” he explains. Well then.
Likewise, Rauber bristles at the suggestion that Moore is not to blame for crime in the neighborhood. Despite his best efforts to report crimes to the authorities, he says nothing has changed, “largely because the Alameda County district attorney doesn’t take the matter seriously”. Well then.
Am I crazy, or does Rauber actually agree with his critics?
Christopher Cantor
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INTOLERANCE
Editors, Daily Planet:
I feel the need to respond to Laura Menard’s letter (“Lies and Intolerance”), in which she advocates the censure of a local teacher, simply for expressing views that differ from her own.
Ms. Menard, I have lived here in the Bay Area for all 23 years. I consider Berkeley my second home. I often think about how lucky I am to live in an urban place spread with a wonderful feast of opinions and views. These range from conservative to liberal to anarchist-radical, and each one adds richness and texture to our home.
If Ms. Prichett is fired or disciplined solely for her political opinions, what does that say about our community as a feast of views that can exist side by side? What will happen to other teachers who hold strong opinions? Will the next generation of young learners have the chance to taste a variety of beliefs including, but not limited to, those on the left? Or will our young people face a sparse, meager political table?
For the sake of our Bay Area, and our world, I hope not.
Alexis Johnson
Oakland
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TRUE CORRUPTION
Editors, Daily Planet:
Aren’t Andrea Prichett and Paul Rauber both overlooking the true corruption in this debate? Would moving all the South-Berkeley “criminal-aiding-grandmas” to other neighborhoods be a rational solution? Even incarcerating all the guilty would only waste more scarce millions by providing employment for increased law enforcement.
Pritchett speaks of recognizing “the systemic causes of drug addiction, crime, and poverty.” This is not rocket science; those who are benefiting from our ignorant outdated drug laws are the true criminals. Those who have apparently given up any hope of using our wasted millions for vitally needed education, jobs, housing, etc., are continuing a seemingly endless unproductive debate about the wrong crimes!
Gerta Farber
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LOSS OF COMPASSION
Editors, Daily Planet:
The loss of compassion is so saddening. As I read Paul Rauber’s rationalizations for his lawsuit against Ms. Moore, my heart sinks to think that his way of thinking can possibly be popular. I know it is not nice to find paraphernalia of see someone urinating in the neighborhood but compare that level of suffering to some of your neighbor’s problems; not having resources for their family to have a proper home, lack of access to decent jobs, discrimination, mental and physical illnesses and no available treatment. Please, can’t you see the bigger picture? It is immoral to persecute those of your community suffering from the lack of abundance you have. Attacking the victims is easier than finding the solutions. But it is wrong.
Cyndi Johnson
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AVIAN FLU
Editors, Daily Planet:
The current fuss about the avian flu is all about fear and ignorance. Whenever we’re fearful and ignorant, we do crazy things. Perhaps some well-meaning politician will soon declare a “war on the flu.” A war destined to be lost, no doubt, much like the wars on cancer, AIDS, poverty, etc. have all been lost years ago (although the money continues to flow). We need to change the way we think.
What the politicians don’t know (and the media won’t tell you) is that germs are a natural part of life. Their very important job is to attack weak organisms. We are not all at risk as has been reported by the government and the media. If your condition is weak, you are at risk. If it is strong, you are not. The problem is that next to no one in the modern world is willing to change dietary habits, lifestyle or spiritual condition. We’d rather pop magic pills and take magic shots. The avian flu is our karma.
Michael Bauce
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NEW TIMES
Editors, Daily Planet:
Becky O’Malley’s insistence that New Times papers “toe the establishment line” and sully the legacy of I.F. Stone sure got our number. In September, for example, the East Bay Express was the first newspaper in the country to report that American soldiers were trading pictures of disfigured Iraqi corpses for pornography. I’d like to thank Patrick Kennedy and Chevrontexaco CEO David O’Reilly for tipping us off to the story. I can’t figure out just how their business interests were advanced by the piece, but who am I to argue? The next three columns are all yours, fellas—just tell me what to write.
Chris Thompson
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P&J COMMISSION
Editors, Daily Planet:
It is my belief that the conservative members of the Berkeley Peace and Justice Commission are actively attempting to undermine and obstruct the work of that commission which deals with local, national and international issues.
This appears to be in retaliation to the successful majority vote of that commission recommending that the U.S. government conduct an investigation into the tragic killing of Rachel Corrie in Palestine by an Israeli soldier driving a bulldozer.
Like it or not, we do not live in a political, economic, or social vacuum. The City of Berkeley Peace and Justice Commission has long been an important voice in the community for connection of conscience and action to this greater perspective.
To this end, I believe it is our responsibility to investigate, condemn, and protest against actions committed by our government or by another directly or indirectly with the aid of our government and/or our citizenry. We must not tolerate any attack on our First Amendment right to free speech. Support the Peace and Justice Commission by notifying your councilmember and requesting that the obstructionist members of that commission either stop their behavior or step down.
Chris Walter
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EXECUTE DYLESKI
Editors, Daily Planet:
Yes. If a person murders another person in cold blood he must be executed also. The Bible says, “An eye for an eye.”
But, if Scott is old enough to be tried as an adult why can’t he vote, buy cigarettes, consent to sex with an adult, sign a legal contract, buy beer, get married, etc.
If Scott is old enough to murder a human and old enough to be executed as an adult then let’s give adult status to all 16-year-old Americans.
My parents brought me here in 1942 from Louisiana. I was 12 years old. I worked in a little grocery store. I went to Roosevelt Jr. High School with white kids for the first time. When I turned 14 I got a license to drive. Now we consider 12- and 14-year-old kids as babies. They are not babies. Sixteen-year-old Scott murdered a woman. Other 16-year-olds in Richmond and Oakland murder people. They are adults. Treat them like adults and they will act like adults. Give them adult privileges, responsibilities, and most of all, if they break the law, they must suffer adult penalties.
Ella Jensen
El Cerrito
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NEEDS VALIDATION
Editors, Daily Planet:
Since letter-writer Joanna Graham is so eager to share Israeli/Palestinian “information” in these pages, she needs to provide specific background material to be taken seriously. Namely: Education? Professional background? On-the-ground experience in the region? Where? When? Duration?
Without validation, we can only assume she is simply venting.
Rhoda Levinson
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PROP. 73
Editors, Daily Planet:
Proposition 73 would require parental notification before a teen can have an abortion. There is a provision for a cumbersome, time-consuming judicial waiver.
Most teens do tell their parents. Some don’t because they are afraid of being beaten up and thrown out of the house. This has happened.
The California Constitution today defines abortion as “medical treatment intended to induce the termination of a pregnancy.” Prop. 73 will define abortion as “causing the death of the unborn child, a child conceived but not yet born.” Who can doubt that 73 is just one more step toward outlawing all abortions?
Prop 73. will require judges to submit reports of the number of judicial waivers they grant each year. Judges are not required to keep records of any other kind of decisions they make. Obviously these records will be used in the judges’ reelection campaigns.
Prop. 73 will require doctors to notify the California Department of Health of the number of abortions performed each year. They will have to supply details.
The University of California at San Francisco recently did a study of states that have parental notification laws. They concluded that, “research suggests that parental notification can have the negative consequence of putting adolescents’ health at risk by delaying and otherwise complicating access to care.”
The American Medical Association, California Nurses’ Association, Latino Coalition for a Healthy California, the National Organization for Women, the American Association of University Women, and American Civil Liberties Union urge to vote no on Proposition 73.
Nancy Ward
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COMPASSION DEFICIT
Editors, Daily Planet:
We’re all entitled to our opinions. What some consider tough-minded common sense, others might find vicious and mean-spirited. I read a letter from a Mr. Rockett, commenting on the lady who gave birth in the BART stairwell. He asserted that he was not “culturally insensitive,” since he did no indicate the race of the mother. We are to believe that he didn’t notice that the woman on the front page was dark skinned and of African descent. He was outraged that tax-payers are paying for the premature triplets, who are presumably living-it-up in the neonatal ICU at Alta Bates. Would he prefer the infants be left on the steps to expire and be swept away with the trash? He indignantly demands to know where the father is. That it’s none of his business never occurs to him. He notices that the woman’s other children are not in her custody, and that she has a social worker. Mr. Rockett’s clear implication is that this sort of person has no business having children. Mr. Rockett no doubt fancies himself a man-of-the-world, one who clearly knows what’s what and how people should behave. Things like this could never happen to superior beings like him. One thing he doesn’t know is what chain of sorrowful events led Mrs. Lewis to be in her present circumstances. She obviously loves her babies and is most likely torn up by being away from the other children. He thinks he knows, but he doesn’t. He has pre-judged her. Pre-judgment being prejudice. Mr. Rockett admits to being confused, so I hesitate to brand him with the name of “bigot,” even though prejudice and bigotry are often used interchangeably. At the least, he has a serious compassion deficit. When he thinks: “Follow the Money,” he would be better off thinking: “What the World Needs Now, Is Love, Sweet Love.”
Barbara Henninger
