Letters for January 3, 2013

Breton isn’t wrong

Re “What’s up, grinches?!” by Cosmo Garvin (SN&R Feature Story, December 20):

I'd say I disagreed with about half of [this article], but, hey, that's one of the things I like about the United States: We can agree to disagree.

The views that really struck me as off base were the comments about Marcos Breton. I don't know him, have never heard of him and didn't read his article. That being said, I live on the grid and have an 8-year-old daughter. Our homelessness problem has become so bad lately, that she's asking me to buy gas in Land Park, because she's afraid and tired of constantly being harassed by these drug-addled bums. Last night, she asked if we could move to Canada because it's too cold for people to live on the streets.

Being homeless as a result of bad luck is pretty rare, and those who were struck by misfortune have my compassion and sympathy. More often (much, much more often) these days, I'm seeing people that are not “down on their luck,” but instead a confluence of drug addiction, alcohol addiction, laziness, and the resulting mental illness from a life of drug and alcohol abuse.

These men and women who live fix to fix are the closest thing we have to the zombies in The Walking Dead. I completely agree with Marcos Breton that if something isn't done to curb this problem, we will have child abductions in the near future. My daughter has been verbally accosted twice this week at two separate gas stations by raving lunatics. I'm 6 feet 8 inches [tall], 240 pounds, and I'm confident that I can take care of both myself and my daughter if anyone ever tried to physically assault us. I can only imagine the fear that a single mom must feel these days when trying to buy gas after dark.

Unfortunately, I don't have the answers, but something needs to be done to clean up our streets. I miss how safe this region felt 30 years ago.

Nicholas Adamek

Sacramento

This Warren-ts an apology

Re “No hard feelings” by Cosmo Garvin (SN&R Bites, December 27):

Really?! I cannot understand how you get your information all twisted and confused. So, let’s clear this up: You indicated that there are “no hard feelings.” Well, it appears from this article that all the hard feelings are with this biased magazine. City Councilman Allen Wayne Warren was not the person that replied [instead of] forwarding the “Fu** SN&R” email. Besides the fact that this staffer was removed from Warren’s campaign, it is truly not [his] position. … I am insulted that your insinuation is as such. The irony is that if there was such a person who [should] feel that way, it [would] be Warren. SN&R supported another candidate in both the primary and general election. However, Warren has always taken the high road and continued to focus on what is important, and [has] not assumed and/or [made] inaccurate accusations. I have known Warren for years, and I have yet [to hear] him say anything negative about anyone or any organization. That is simply not his character. … Cutting corners to find any [reason] to degrade our councilman is truly pathetic. If you truly want to state “no hard feelings,” try apologizing. Or better yet, recognize that Councilman Warren won and provide him with the respect he deserves so we can all work on [the] improvement of District 2. I am sure he would appreciate that.

Aaron P. Bryant

Sacramento

Editor’s note: Mr. Bryant consulted for Allen Warren’s city council campaign.