Letters for May 25, 2017

No excuses, SN&R

Re the entire “Letters” page (SN&R, May 11):

Concerning the letter “Playing kick the can,” about Sacramento’s homeless, when the human mind reads tired clichés, it shuts down. What we’ve really done over the last 30 years is not can-kicking; it’s telling the homeless to die. Using cute expressions like “kick the can down the road” tells us it’s OK not to feel.

The letter “Tip of the iceberg” (itself a cliché) states that the government wants “to cut poor folks off at the knees.” Again, this permits us not to feel or think. What the government really does is not amputating; it’s allowing the homeless to die, because the government doesn’t care.

Let’s turn to the hatchet job and the witch hunt, in the letter labeled “Political hatchet job.” Did a politician dress up as a Native American and take someone’s scalp? Why am I staring at brain-numbing expressions printed in SN&R? I’m learning nothing about really happens to us when we get sick and are victimized by Trump-Ryan-Care.

It would be better if SN&R’s editors printed letters and texts like the ones from Marc Perkel and Jeremy Marquez. They use fresh language and their meanings are clear. They allow us no excuses.

J. O. Daunt

Davis

Man with a plan

Re “Rousted once again” by Scott Thomas Anderson (News, May 4):

Darrell Steinberg, I have a plan for this crisis:

(1) Declare a moratorium on the Anti-Camping Ordinance. If the city is going to continually fail in providing shelter, then we need to allow the homeless to shelter themselves—be it in doorways or in tents.

(2) Follow the lead of other cities in California: Declare an Emergency Shelter Crisis and use the powers granted by it to rapidly expand the sheltering capacity of the city by utilizing city-owned and -leased buildings. Maybe lease the now abandoned Sleep Train Arena?

(3) Implement Councilman Allen W. Warren’s tent-based triage plan. It may not house all, but it is a good start.

(4) Focus on commonsensical solutions that will actually affect homelessness—we don’t need a new proposal each week that is less viable than proposals offered previously.

(5) Finally, remember that the focus needs to remain on the homeless—not on you. The goal is to help the homeless and ensure they are sheltered, not to make you look good.

Shaun Dillon

Sacramento

Foot on the scale

Re “California submerged,” by Julie Cart (Feature story, May 18):

Until they admit that they have been altering the weather and climate now for decades and stop pretending that all of these changes in climate are anthropogenic, this type of reporting is nothing more than propaganda. Somebody has their foot purposefully on the scale of climate change and it ain’t me.

David Ball

Arden