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Don’t normalize
aggressive policing
Aggressive policing priorities such as frequent patrolling and stop-and-frisk tactics negatively impact the mental and physical health of individuals and communities, particularly in communities of color.
Moreover, disparities in policing practices are glaringly evident. People of color, especially Black and Latino individuals, are disproportionately targeted and subjected to excessive force. Health equity demands that we address the root causes of this disparity. Furthermore, we must advocate for policy changes that address the social determinants of health and justice. Housing, education, employment and access to health care are all critical components that influence an individual’s health outcomes.
It is our collective responsibility to challenge aggressive policing practices and champion health equity in the East Bay. By working together, we can build a community where justice, safety and health are accessible to all.
Patricia Falcone
San Leandro
GOP abortion policy
is killing U.S. women
According to ProPublica, the Georgia state committee investigating the preventable deaths of two women was dissolved Nov. 21. The women were mothers who sought life-saving abortions and were denied.
Medical malpractice looks bad when dogmatic religious policies cost women their lives. It contradicts “pro-life” and “pro-family” when both mother and child are dead in the name of God. This is pro-death.
If red states continue their draconian policies, ignore reports on dead women and dead babies, and silence any “bad news” when the numbers increase, women, including 10-year-old rape victims, will flee red states or die.
American women are refugees in our own nation.
Jean Paulsen
Livermore
Democrats are new
threat to democracy
Since the election has become final, Democratic leaders — notably Gov. Gavin Newsom, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis — have openly expressed their disdain for Donald Trump.
They state that “Trump proofing” will be in full swing and they will fight him every step of the way. Is this what they have referred to as “a threat to democracy” or maybe election denial? The left accused the right of doing exactly what it is doing. It’s a sad state of affairs.
John Fischer
Vallejo
Notion of Republican
mandate is nonsense
Re: “Time for conservatives to come from shadows” (Page A6, Nov. 22).
Conservatives claim the razor-thin plurality Donald Trump got is a mandate and a failure of progressivism. They’re deluding themselves. Mandates require a significant majority.
The only reason conservatives believe the mandate hoax is because literally dozens of billionaire-financed right-wing media outlets claim it’s so. Progressive voices like Thom Hartmann and Rachel Maddow are telling the truth but are drowned out by liars.
Conservatives claim they’ve been silenced in California because their views are unpopular. We live in a 50-50 country, politically, but it’s still a democratic republic.
Conservatives and progressives are not going away — we can live peacefully alongside each other — but the violent rhetoric coming from Trump must stop for that to happen.
Edward Chainey
Richmond
New Ukraine stance
is a dangerous miscue
On Nov. 17, President Biden gave the OK to Ukraine to strike Russia with U.S. missiles. What the hell are we doing?
He had held back doing this for two years, knowing it was an egregious provocation. Vladimir Putin has warned that this amounts to the United States being at war with Russia, as the Ukrainian military can’t fire the missiles without U.S. or other NATO direct involvement. Hardliners in Russia say this is the red line. We are dangerously on the brink, and the attitude of some in Washington is a cynical “apre moi le deluge” — after me, the flood. It seems we will do anything to leave a mess for Donald Trump.
Sometimes in the past, our members of Congress, like Barbara Lee and Ro Khanna, have been outspoken against war. If there ever was a time for speaking out, it is now.
Hunter Cobb
Alameda
Source: www.mercurynews.com