Letters for September 28, 2017

Don’t jail rappers

Re “Rap stars behind bars” by Raheem F. Hosseini and Bansky Gonzalez (News, September 14):

Life in Sacramento is a hard one. Being surrounded by poverty, fights and just the general environment can mislead one on the path to righteousness. Now these rappers in Sac are doing the best they can to make money; simply, in Sac it’s hard to make a living because of the stereotypes that surround us. Rappers like Lavish D, C-Bo and Mozzy grew up in the toughest areas of Sac, and with no way out we did the only thing that we can do: adapt. With this adaptation, the rappers have found a way to be in the focus of what Sacramento is about.

Now my question is, what is putting the rappers in jail going to do? Yeah it keeps them out of trouble, but it gives more leeway to rhymes other rappers can use to diss them. And when a diss track comes out there is no telling how someone is going to act. It’s a never-ending cycle as long as people still find rap relevant, because rap isn’t just a song, it’s a story of how someone lived or how their living currently.

Kerry Rodgers

Sacramento

via sactoletters@newsreview.com

Don’t blame society

Re “A noble act” by Eric Johnson (Editor’s Note, September 14):

It is way past time to start being honest with ourselves about the homelessness problem in Sacramento. At some point, we need to stop blaming society for not feeding and housing those unwilling to help themselves and finally offer that hand up vs. another failed handout. It is a crime against humanity that the ACLU and Ronald Reagan shut down/outlawed institutionalizing these individuals. They simply should not be roaming the streets where they are a danger to themselves and the community. As for those that choose to be homeless—and yes, there are many and it is a choice—we need society to provide the proper motivations with this lifestyle. Remember when the city was going to open up ground at the fairgrounds and none of the tent city people would move there because there were restrictions on drugs, alcohol and behavior? Well, that is when I stopped feeling sorry for these people.

Bill Bixby

Sacramento

via newsreview.com

Credit is overdue

Re “Review: Patience” by Bev Sykes (Stage, September 14):

Thanks so much for your highly complimentary review. Hard not to notice, however, that Anne-Marie Endres, my daughter in law, who labored long and hard as our choral and orchestra director, was not given credit as our musical director. Troy Turpen, who was on stage as a Dragoon and Solicitor, did not direct the orchestra. Thanks again for your continuing support.

Mike Baad

Sacramento

via sactoletters@newsreview.com

Clarification

The winner of the 2017 Best of Sacramento in the Food & Drink / Best Thai category is: The Coconut on T (formerly The Coconut Midtown, as it appeared in last week’s paper).

Further clarification

David Harr, who was pictured being treated by Elica Health Centers’ street team in the September 14 feature “A Place of Love,” reports that he is living in a nice studio in San Jose.