Keep smoking ban in movies
In December 1966, the world mourned the untimely passing of Walt Disney, who succumbed to lung cancer after smoking heavily since World War I. The man who had brought us Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Snow White and Bambi was lost forever. The decision by the Walt Disney Co. in 2015 to prohibit smoking in movies across the board was visionary.
To honor the memory of Walt Disney, 20th Century Fox should not reverse the ban on smoking in Disney films and continue to protect the health of the public.
John Maa, San Francisco
Painful history
Regarding “Ad puts Leno in awkward position” (Bay Area, May 1): The statue “Early Days,” located between the Main Library and the Asian Art Museum, is an accurate and possibly painful bit of history.
It would be folly to remove this important piece and hide it in a warehouse, just because it is a reminder of bad deeds. Let’s be clear: The statue is not racist. If name-calling is needed, the bad name applies to us, the non-Native Americans.
Sidney Kass, San Francisco
Challenge beliefs
“Transgender casting part of theatrical shift” (Datebook, May 2) is a welcome development. There are signs, though, that instead of theater becoming more liberated, it may be adopting new forms of discrimination and rigidity. If a part for someone with a limp or a particular gender identification can only be played by actors who actually have those characteristics, we are merely shackling the theater in new ways. Is it acceptable to cast a female actor as a man, or an atheist as the pope? Perhaps bullies can be played only by bullies; after all, only a bully could possibly understand what it’s like to be one. Why bother with trained actors at all? People can simply play themselves.
In 1934, Germany forbade Jews from portraying Aryans or interacting with them onstage or screen. Many Americans, on the other hand, have encouraged spending time in someone else’s shoes, as a way of fostering empathy and mutual understanding. Now we’re hearing, “Stay out of those shoes!” Let’s stop stifling ourselves with labels and truly liberate art to challenge all our beliefs and assumptions.
Lawrence Bernstein, Menlo Park
Clogged streets
The Board of Supervisors has passed legislation limiting the number of electric rental scooters allowed on San Francisco streets at any one time. Will someone please tell me why comparable legislation can’t be passed that places similar limits on the number of non-taxi ride-hailing cars (Uber, Lyft, etc.)? There are currently tens of thousands of these vehicles clogging our streets and making any form of surface transportation, including Muni, impractical — to say nothing of adding to the number of gas-powered engines clogging our air.
Cars are much bigger and more dangerous than scooters, and limiting the number of those being driven for profit only makes sense.
Ben Bayol, San Francisco
Vaccine benefits
As a San Franciscan who supports both local and global public heath programs, I was pleased to read “A reminder — vaccines save lives” (Open Forum, April 30) by the CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, who is also the former chancellor of UCSF. I agree with her assessment of the challenges and value of increasing vaccine levels here and abroad. There has been amazing progress in vaccine levels.
The World Heath Organization reports that worldwide, the number of 1-year-olds who have received at least one vaccination increased from 22 percent in 1980 to 88 percent in 2016. The Gates Foundation is doing splendid work where private philanthropy can accelerate this progress. But even the biggest foundations cannot solve public health problems without public support. For 30 years, Rep. Nancy Pelosi has been quietly and consistently voting to increase funding for vaccine programs like Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Across the bay, Rep. Barbara Lee has been championing U.S. support for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria since that program started. Be assured that many members of the public and representatives in government support increasing vaccination levels.
Brian Webster, San Francisco