Some behavior doesn’t match up with ‘Chico’

Your Chico-centric edition was a welcome reminder of the good that still exists in our hometown. Those private moments in the park or on a neighborhood walk, when we privileged Chicoans feel appreciation and affection for what we have, are clearly shared by many of us. The intent of the issue argues that we have a municipal identity with a smiling, welcoming personality, an educated citizenry, and some good places to eat. Nothing wrong with that.

However, the paper also elicits some comparisons that have been much in the news of late. Can Chico be the welcoming village it sees itself to be when a number of people with power and money are working so viciously to contradict that perception? The Chico we clearly want to exist runs contrary to a faction with a different view. It is one thing to claim principles that prevent you from helping victims of the disasters around us, and life in general, for that matter. It is quite another to go out of your way to prevent others from pitching in. Very unChico, it would seem.

Such behavior defies the tenets of most religions and our fundamental, unencumbered humanity. A collective effort to help the unsheltered, those who can’t afford to dine at the civic banquet that we perceive Chico to be, seems more in the spirit of the Chico portrayed in Sunday’s letters. Thus, a question: Is the smiling face many writers see the “real” Chico, or is it the deadpan of selfish cruelty? It’s too bad a lawsuit was necessary to raise the question.

— Phillip Hemenway, Chico