Letters for February 21, 2019

Re: “Fear of the Left” by Raheem F. Hosseini (News, February 7):

Plain and simple, freedom of speech does not include the use of bricks, chains, bottles and knives. I’ve marched, I’ve protested. Not one time have I needed to bring weapons. The only reason someone brings weapons to a protest is because they are looking for a fight.

The ordinance makes sense. Police wear riot gear because harassers shove cameras in their faces, scream, cry and dare them to retaliate. These temper tantrums by adults don’t create compassion, they only make the general public less empathetic. Your tactics aren’t working, grow the hell up.

K.L. Rogers

Sacramento / via email

Guessing at homeless

Re: “Making the homeless count” by Scott Thomas Anderson (Feature, February 7):

In every jurisdiction in California, similar inconsistencies crop up. Until there is widespread use of housing information systems by the most active human services agencies in each city and county, these numbers are just unvalidated guesses. So many folks just fall through the cracks and are stranded without any help at all. Anyone homeless for more than a month or two has been disserved by our cruel system.

Mike Evans

Anderson / via email

SMUD’s off switch

Re: “SMUD isn’t as green as you think” by Thomas J. Meagher (Essay, January 24):

We have a 9.1 kilowatt solar ground mount system and I was thinking about adding a similar system next to the existing one. We have a large home, a 40,000-gallon swimming pool and acreage. We run a pump for the pool and a well for watering the large lawn. I had my solar person approach SMUD to see about the permit needed. SMUD informed him that the transformer on the pole was too old and could not handle both systems. I always thought SMUD was for people using solar power. As Meagher states, “SMUD seems disinterested, untouchable and unaccountable.”

Terry Mulligan

Courtland / via email

Dad’s empty promises

Re: “Father refigured” by Rachel Mayfield (Essay, January 17):

Rachel Mayfield was absolutely correct: Fathers who make these kinds of jokes and give these speeches are doing absolutely nothing other than boosting their own egos and virtue signaling without “doing any of the heavy lifting required to actually prevent gender discrimination and sexual violence.”

My own dad—since I was old enough to understand what dating was—has always said that if anyone ever hurt me that he would go to jail for what he did protecting me. Every time we saw a movie like Taken or heard about a news story of a girl hurt or dead because of sexual violence, my dad would always crow about how far he would go to protect me or my mom if anything ever happened. Contrary to what he has always told me, when I finally came to him after I broke up with my ex, my dad didn’t believe me. He immediately grilled me with all kinds of intrusive questions and wanted to know intimate things because he wanted proof. It took him two weeks to apologize.

Most of my friends who have talked to me about abuse they’ve faced from ex-boyfriends have mentioned that their fathers reacted exactly the same way. I wonder how many other women have stories like this to share about their fathers.

Emma Kile

Sacramento / via email