Boycotting election won’t help Gaza
Regarding “Campus activism is on full display in Berkeley. Voting, not so much” (Joe Garofoli, SFChronicle.com, April 24): As a boomer who protested the Vietnam War in middle school (with my parents), I agree that the lesson from the 1960s-era protests is that voting for Democratic candidates is not enough and that activism is necessary.
However, there is another lesson from 1968 that today’s activists should heed. Not actively opposing President Richard Nixon made the Vietnam War worse. Nixon prolonged the war for six more years and increased the intensity of the onslaught.
Do today’s activists really think Gaza will be better off if Donald Trump is elected president? Eric Weaver, Berkeley
Learn from history
Regarding “Fix America’s problems” (Letters to the Editor, April 24): I must address Rich Ibarra’s letter about foreign aid. People don’t read their history. If they did they would know that Hitler could have been stopped in the early 1930s when he invaded the Rhineland, followed by Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland.
Not stopping Hitler empowered him. As a result, children — like those in the programs Ibarra runs — died on battlefields.
We now have a similar situation. First, Russian leader Vladimir Putin takes Crimea, then a few years later, Ukraine. If he wins this war, then Poland and the Baltics are next.
It is not either or with the money. We can fund domestic programs and foreign aid. We need to restructure our taxes so they are fairer and finally call into account companies paying zero in taxes.
I want my grandchildren to grow up in a safe world. If their class sizes get bigger, so be it. At least they are safe and alive.
Please, read your history and reflect on the bigger picture.
Leonard Dorin, Lafayette
Help stop overdoses
Regarding “East Bay high school nurse revives student with Narcan on campus after suspected overdose” (Bay Area, SFChronicle.com, April 24): Luckily, there was a school nurse who was trained in administering Narcan and was able to act at the scene.
There were almost 4,000 opioid-related deaths in California from 2020 through 2022, according to the state Department of Public Health. With the increasing prevalence of opioid addiction and access to the drug, it is becoming more necessary for public institutions, such as schools and libraries, to have individuals who are trained to administer Naloxone (the generic form of Narcan).
The state Department of Public Health has the tools to implement this through the Naloxone Distribution Project. I call on local governments and Sacramento to encourage the implementation of this program to help cease preventable deaths due to the greed and carelessness of Big Pharma. Nicole Brennick, Baltimore
A solution to drunk driving
Regarding “Her little sister was killed by a drunk driver; she fights so other families can avoid preventable loss” (California, SFChronicle.com, April 24): AB2210 is misguided and at the same time long overdue. The bill would mandate the installation of an Ignition Interlocking Device in the vehicle of those convicted of driving under the influence. The device requires a driver to give an alcohol-free breath sample before the engine will start.
The proposed law sounds great but the opposition says it’s too expensive. Groups such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving say that if it saves even one life its worth it.
I reject this notion, and it bothers me that MADD has not advocated for the real solution, which is to have the device installed on every car on the road. By installing devices on every new car will make the cost issue go away.
This simple solution isn’t even being discussed by the people who say they are all for saving lives. Roger Lema, Castro Valley
Put pandas downtown
The San Francisco Zoo does not have a proper panda enclosure. Meanwhile, across town, Macy’s threatens to close.
The solution is clear: Give the pandas to Macy’s. They can go in that corner window where the San Francisco SPCA displays puppies and kittens at Christmas.
Shoppers will flock downtown again and retailers will fight to lease back the storefronts they left behind — a win-win. Peter Hollingsworth, San Francisco