Letters for December 14, 2017

Why our homeless feel despair

Re “Will arrest for food” by Raheem F. Hosseini (Beats, November 23):

Many factors contribute to homelessness. However, ultimately, for an adult to break the cycle, they must be capable of earning a wage (long-term shelter is not free). I live and work in Midtown and for the overwhelming majority of homeless I observe, reliable employment is largely an unattainable goal. Of the many hurdles the homeless face, this is akin to a thirty-foot-high brick wall.

Molly Tom

Sacramento

via sactoletters@newsreview.com

Hmong deserve better

Re “Rewriting the new year” by Mozes Zarate (Arts & Culture, December 7):

As a Hmong reader, this article lacked a lot of perspective which is disappointing considering this is how my community is being displayed to the rest of Sacramento. We are such a crucial part to Sacramento’s livelihood, history and diversity—yet this piece was riddled with passive racism and bias against issues the Hmong community is facing.

It would’ve been awesome to see SN&R cover HmongStory40, which happened at the beginning of this year. It was a community-based, grassroots exhibit that was funded and built from the ground up by collaborative individuals in the Hmong community. We had free entrance to the public and guided tours for 2,500 SCUSD students. I mean, come on, that was an amazing feat of education and engagement—not just for youth, but also for elders who are often neglected because of the ageism in this society, along with people outside the Hmong community who wanted to know more about their neighbors. …. None of this was covered anywhere in Sacramento at all but an article like this comes out?? Do better SN&R. Write to a diverse audience. Let’s make Sacramento a thoughtful place.

Pachia Vang

Sacramento

via newsreview.com

There is no God

The Jerusalem controversy is just another example of how religion ruins everything. Trump, sucking up to his religious base, wants to move America’s embassy to Jerusalem to side with Jews and Christians against Muslims as to who God gave this land to. In the reality-based world, however, there is no God and Jerusalem is just another piece of dirt like anywhere else in the Middle East.

How much are we going to spend on wars and crazy stuff because one group’s invisible friend doesn’t get along with another group’s invisible friend? What are the consequences of turning our backs on reality in favor of old stories that just are not true? I think more people should be focused on this world, this reality and what we can do to make this planet a better place to live. Reality matters, old stories don’t. Why don’t we focus on exploring the universe, electric cars and curing cancer instead? Let’s do something useful with our limited existence.

Marc Perkel

Gilroy

via sactoletters@newsreview.com

Retraction

Last week’s Scorekeeper falsely claimed that Joseph Marman, a disbarred attorney from Citrus Heights, had been convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol on multiple occasions. That is not the case. The article also falsely claimed that Marman had been convicted of tax fraud, that he refused a field sobriety test and that he misrepresented himself to a police officer. None of these things happened—that conduct belonged to a different disbarred attorney from Sacramento. We deeply regret the errors and apologize to Mr. Marman, and to our readers.