San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Police training in question after shocking killing
Regarding “Officers fired after black man dies in their custody” (Nation, May 27): One of the most important lessons that cries out for attention in the aftermath of the shocking conduct of the four police officers in Minneapolis is the question of how police officers are vetted, trained and evaluated before they are given a badge and the authority to police the community. How is it possible not to see that these four men could not be trusted to deal with a situation without resorting to unnecessary violence?
A class on nepotism
Regarding “$100 million” (Business, May 23): It’s not surprising to learn that MasterClass has raised this amount in its latest round of venture capital investment.
Its popular celebritytaught classes even include the Golden State Warriors player Stephen Curry demonstrating shooting, ballhandling and scoring techniques. Perhaps MasterClass should next add President Trump’s senior adviser and soninlaw Jared Kushner to its lineup. He could teach how to not handle a pandemic by trying to withhold a national stockpile of medical supplies, how to not bring peace to the Middle East, and how to not make the entire federal government more efficient. The title of this MasterClass could be called “Nepotism at Its Worst.”
No reason to rejoice
While critics of standardized exams are applauding the University of California’s decision to drop the ACT and SAT admissions requirement, is there really reason to rejoice? The exams are labeled as racist and unfair, but not one critic has shown us a question on the exam that clearly favors one race over another. For example, how is solving a quadratic equation racially biased?
That is fundamental knowledge in any math class. How about analyzing a passage from 19th century British literature? I don’t care what color your skin is; in order to prove college readiness at an institute as rigorous as the UC schools, you need to comprehend and synthesize dense reading material. Gradepoint average, letters of recommendation, personal statements, rigor of curriculum and extracurriculars all should carry weight in the admissions process but are not perfect barometers for success in college. GPAs are inflated, personal statements can be plagiarized or written by someone other than the applicant, and the UCs don’t require letters of recommendation. Standardized tests are also not perfect but are designed to validate an applicant’s mastery of math and verbal reasoning skills. The removal of that requirement poses new challenges greater than the retainment of it.
So many false tweets
Regarding “Twitter won’t delete Trump’s false tweets” (Nation, May 27): Of course Twitter won’t delete President Trump’s false tweets; there wouldn’t be anything left.
Quarantine scofflaws
Prisoners do not voluntarily subject themselves to the risk of coronavirus infection that exists in prisons. Parishioners who decide to attend church services in large congregate settings against public health guidelines do. A rational public health approach to management of the epidemic would have the state dramatically reduce the prison population, releasing all nonviolent and not potentially dangerous prisoners. Then one or more prisons could be designated to quarantine any congregation where someone shows symptoms or tests positive for the coronavirus after attending services with more than a hundred other people in a closed indoor setting. I don’t see how we can protect the general safety of the public unless we enforce a twoweek quarantine on scofflaws.
Republican hypocrisy
Regarding “GOP candidate loses more endorsements” (Nation, May 27): House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy withdrew his endorsement from Ted Howze, a congressional candidate, after Howze made racist remarks. McCarthy says, “Hateful rhetoric has no place within the Republican Party.” But McCarthy and Republican politicians continue to endorse President Trump, whose hateful rhetoric is continuous and vicious, the latest being his tweet insinuating that MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough killed a congressional staffer who died of proven natural causes. Why are Republicans so lacking in backbone when it comes to Trump’s outrageous behavior? They only take the moral position when it’s convenient, not when it’s the right thing to do.