Mayor should host soda summit with student
Regarding “Rally set after Black student accused of theft” (May 5): In 2009, former President Barack Obama organized the “beer summit,” bringing together Henry Louis Gates Jr. and the police officer who had arrested Gates in error. Mayor London Breed should in like manner bring together Ja’Mari Oliver, his mother, and the Safeway personnel involved in Oliver’s detention.
The resulting dialogue and apology (“soda pop summit?”) may provide a small measure of recompense to Oliver, whose view of the world and of himself are now forever changed.
Abby Margolis, Daly City
End divisive rhetoric
Periodic displays of prejudice (wrongfully accusing someone of stealing a sandwich) does not make our country systemically racist. I am an old man with numerous friends, and I know of no one who is racist, nor have I encountered one in decades. They are out there, but not prevalent. They would be ostracized in most social circles in a heartbeat.
The U.S., a country to which millions of people of color wish to immigrate, is a decent land. A country where people of color are police officers, police chiefs, council persons, mayors, state representatives, governors, congresspersons, senators and yes, even president. (I could also add my best man and best friend.) We need to stop beating up America because of a few bad apples.
This divisive rhetoric needs to stop. It really only exacerbates the situation.
Call out prejudice when we see it, but let’s not condemn the entire nation because of some jerks. Douglas Abbott, Union City
Rep. Cheney’s courage
Regarding “We remember, Liz Cheney. You're no hero” (May 7): Charles M. Blow’s column on Rep. Liz Cheney is way out of focus. He’s right, of course; she was and is a conservative whose past positions on many issues (as well as many current ones) are anathema to us liberals. But should that disqualify her from any kind of heroic status?
Cheney, more than any other Republican officeholder, has recognized that the battle with former President Donald Trump is about the survival of our democracy. She has risen above partisan power politics and has put her own political future on the line in service to that struggle.
Heroism is not measured as the sum of all the good and bad things one has done in one’s life. It’s about taking risks and making a difference when the chips are down. Cheney’s bold and forthright stand for truth and the Constitution and her call for traditional conservatives to dispel the fog of their current insanity, is a voice we sorely need at this moment. We owe Cheney a debt of gratitude. She might not qualify as everyone’s hero. But she has shown the courage and the willingness to pay the price that is the stuff out of which all heroes are made.
Matthew Hallinan, Berkeley
Jenner’s ‘highwire act’
Regarding “Silly campaign, serious consequences” (Editorial, May 7): Caitlyn Jenner’s zany foray into the governorrecall circus indeed amounts to a “highwire act.” Her stumble during last Sunday’s TMZ interview bodes most ill for her campaign. When Jenner was asked whether transgender girls should be allowed to compete in sports, see parroted the standard conservative take: “It just isn’t fair.”
Fine, but then she was asked about her recent participation in women’s golf tournaments — whereupon she offered no reply, abruptly ending the interview.
Jenner of course wanted to dodge the inevitable followup question: Having won an Olympic decathlon gold medal as a male, would it be fair for her to compete in, say, a women’s masters decathlon? It’s hard to imagine how Jenner might respond without setting off either her GOP supporters or those in the trans community. Memo to Jenner: If you can’t take the demagogic heat, stay out of the political kitchen. Edward Alston, Santa Maria