Letters for July 7, 2016

The rest of the story

Re “New racism, same as the old?” by Jeff vonKaenel (SN&R Greenlight, June 30):

Unfortunately, my father too was arrested and interned during World War II, as were thousands of other German-Americans. As a family, we ended up interned at both Ellis Island, New York and at Crystal City, Texas. And all Americans should know the rest of the internment story, e.g. American-born children were sent to Germany under siege where they were exchanged with our enemy. More than 300,000 German permanent-resident aliens were labeled as “alien enemies” who were forbidden to fly, forbidden to possess firearms and cameras and were required to carry identification cards labeling them as “alien enemies.” In addition, they were forbidden to leave their neighborhoods. Many German-Americans were forced to leave their residences because they resided in a designated war zone, and many were denaturalized and deported.

Arthur D. Jacobs

via email

Nothing but love

Re “Walled off” by Rachel Leibrock (SN&R News, June 30):

In the wake of Orlando, we must be a community of unity. We must persevere as Sacramento and not begin pointing fingers and making accusations of who is not supporting the LGBT community. In that, my partner Beth and I have been going to 58 Degrees for many, many years. We don’t want to go to gay bars, but rather, in our age, as wine enthusiasts, we want to go somewhere safe and comfortable. 58 and their staff, many of them who are gay, have been nothing but wonderful people. 58 Degrees is our safe haven. No one bothers us. The staff are nothing but loving and supportive. When we married in Seattle, we arrived at 58 and there on the table was a bottle of champagne and celebration, with a card signed by all the staff. I don’t know what the motivation is behind negative stories around 58. I define all of what I do by asking for your proof. Our proof is that at 58, we find love and support. Always. We need to stop jumping to conclusions during this very sad time and know that there really are lots of straight and gay businesses who love us.

Nora Benavides

Sacramento