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Instead of a gun ban,
let’s learn to live together
Workplace violence, domestic violence, road rage violence, gun violence, sexual violence, gender violence, racial violence, and every other type of violent behavior will be with us forever. And the common denominator is violence, not guns, bombs, knives, which are only tools.
The white man leaving, and returning this country to Native Americans, is about as likely to happen as removing guns from society.
Laws have never stopped people from using drugs. Why would guns, which are legal, be different?
We are free to like or dislike whomever we want. But we must learn to live together peacefully and treat each other fairly, even if we don’t like each other. The media is failing all of us when it comes to that.
Michael Spurek
Castro Valley
We all must speak out
against anti-Semitism
On Feb. 4 I visited the Schneerson Center in San Francisco — where a Nazi sympathizer terrorized congregants at a religious gathering Feb. 1. I delivered a message of solidarity on behalf of the Socialist Workers Party.
Earlier that week a swastika was painted in the yard used by students at a nearby Jewish school. At the University of California, clubs at the law school have put into their bylaws a ban on speakers who support Israel’s right to exist. This is an attack on free speech, targeting a majority of Jewish people.
All working people and our unions need to speak out against anti-Semitism and acts of Jew hatred taking place.
Carole Lesnick
Socialist Workers Party
Oakland
Arizona’s ‘Lake Effect’
is made up of hot air
Lake Effect snow occurs when cold air, often originating from Canada, moves across the open waters of the Great Lakes. As the cold air passes over the unfrozen and relatively warm waters of the Great Lakes, warmth and moisture are transferred into the lowest portion of the atmosphere.
In Arizona, a very different Lake Effect phenomenon now occurs with annoying frequency. This phenomenon is characterized by loud bursts of hot air in the form of completely false lies from defeated MAGA gubernatorial candidate Karie Lake, who still claims the election was stolen from her and that she should be immediately installed in the governor’s office. As she still cannot accept her defeat, meteorologists and other observers now describe these bursts of obnoxious hot air as Lake Effect Bulls__t.
Bob Benson
Lafayette
We may be seeing death
throes of Pebble Beach
Why does this historic tournament, the AT&T in Pebble Beach, no longer attract the big names in the PGA?
This has long been one of the most prestigious names in the PGA Tournament Circuit — now we are being snubbed by the big names who used to be eager to play at the famous Pebble Beach golf courses.
I have heard from people involved in the AT&T that one of the reasons is the younger pros do not want to deal with the taxing and challenging aspect of playing three courses in one tournament. Shame on the PGA for encouraging this kind of elitism from players who want to be considered athletes. I feel we are seeing the death throes of this wonderful tournament that has brought so many charitable contributions to this area because the PGA no longer wants to enforce the athleticism that they long have felt describes golfers.
Tom Nabozny
Seaside
Police spark fear
in people of color
You would think that police officers would be the ones to make you feel safe because their purpose is to “serve and protect.” Unfortunately, that is not the case for many people of color, especially Black men in America.
Whenever a new headline pops up about a Black man being killed by police officers, not only does my heart ache for that family but I also grow more fearful for my two brothers. They are two young Black men like Tyre Nichols and Tamir Rice. These men were just going on about their lives the same way my brothers do. Tyre Nichols was on his way home when he was beaten and killed by the people who were supposed to “serve and protect” him.
The lingering question is whether Black men will be able to live without fear of the police.
Jaudai Lopes
San Jose
No reason to forget
your reusable bags
I am a high school junior from Mountain View. I am highly concerned about the ever-growing problem of plastic pollution.
Since the summer of 2022, I have been raising awareness about plastic bag pollution. I have been campaigning outside our local farmers market with banners and placards for several weeks and have named my campaign “Sustainable Sundays.” To encourage people to bring their reusable produce bags, I even distributed free cloth produce bags funded with my birthday money.
During my conversation, people told me they want to avoid using plastic bags but forget their reusable produce bags, either at home or in the car. To address this issue, I have developed a free Android “Bag Reminder App” that reminds people to bring their reusable produce bags to the farmers market. This app is available at Google Play Store. The app does not collect or store any user data.
Akshat Mehrotra
Mountain View
Source: www.mercurynews.com