S.F. not meant to be Manhattanized

The Bay Bridge has rusted bolts. The Millennium Tower is leaning and sinking, and the Transbay Transit Center has cracked beams. Some cities are not meant to be Manhattanized.

Alan Keene, Alameda

Choosing a side

Regarding “Waste of time” (Letters, Sept. 27): The author wonders if those who support Christine Blasey Ford’s right to share her experience with Judge Brett Kavanaugh would feel differently if it were a family member’s behavior that was being questioned.

I would ask the author how he would feel if a family member of his were to come forward 30 years after being sexually abused by a priest in circumstances in which there were no witnesses. Would he side with the priest or the family member who asserted the abuse?

Joyce McKinney, San Francisco

Unresolved matter

Regarding “What do black workers have to lose under Trump? Plenty” (Insight, Sept. 23): Although this piece offers an informative analysis of the status of black middle-class workers during the Trump administration, it ignores a significant and unresolved matter — the disproportionate number of incarcerated African American men. These individuals make up more than one-third of the prison population even though African Americans are (according to recent Census Bureau statistics) only about 12 percent of the entire U.S. population. Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric encouraging law enforcement to “rough up” criminal suspects and claiming there are “good people” on both sides of white supremacist marches, does nothing to alleviate this problem. Our criminal justice system is in dire need of reform so that people of color are not targeted or treated differently than their white counterparts. Furthermore, the NAACP has noted that when there are job openings, former inmates have a 50 percent lower chance of being considered than applicants with no prior criminal records. When a history of unequal socioeconomic justice in America is written, the status of the black middleclass will merely be a footnote.

Rhonda Collins-Jackson, Oakland

Selfish generation

Regarding “It’s not just free speech at stake” (Insight, Sept. 23): Ryan Coonerty’s UC Santa Cruz students are correct in their stinging indictment of the “older generations wring(ing) every last drop out of the system on their way to retirement and death.” History will show that the Baby Boomers were perhaps the most selfish and selfrighteous generation in our country’s history. We came of age in a time of unprecedented and anomalous widespread economic opportunity. While we had a good work ethic, we were able to launch our adult lives with relative ease. Even though our good fortune was largely the result of being born at the right time, we adopted a shameful “we got ours, now you get yours” attitude.

And too many of us have supported policies that have exacerbated the woes of the younger generations.

Mark Wardlaw, Santa Rosa

Humane treatment

Concerning “Eggs are back on the ballot” (Insight, Sept. 23): Unlike this newspaper, I support Proposition 12 — the Farm Animal Confinement Initiative. If this proposition was concerning adequate space for dogs and cats being held in animal shelters, would The Chronicle’s position be the same? All animals, including hens, should be treated with dignity. And consumers should be willing to pay a bit extra for their eggs as a result of the more humane treatment ensured by Prop. 12.

Xavier Betancourt, San Francisco

A teaching moment

I hope the incident where the audience at the United Nations General Assembly laughed at President Trump is a teaching moment for him. If Trump is half the stable genius he claims he is, he should realize why the world is laughing at us and stop blaming the ongoing investigations.

While we are at it, perhaps someone should ask U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, how many times have you seen anyone laugh (at, not with, you) out of respect? Perhaps another reason why the world is laughing at our country.

Raghavendra Rao Loka, Palo Alto

‘The Force’ is missing

Regarding “Bad timing for Salesforce” (Business, Sept. 27): The lesson to be learned during the Dreamforce conference week by Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, who paid millions of dollars to have the Transbay Transit Center — temporarily closed due to cracked beams — named after his company is this: “The Force” is not always with you.

Dylan Seeger, San Francisco

David Paul Morris / Bloomberg Police tape blocks the entrance to the Transbay Transit Center in San Francisco, which was closed due to the discovery of cracked steel beams.