TELL ME SOMETHING I DON’T KNOW

I’m not involved in law enforcement, and I find it very unusual to be on their side, but “Walking the Color Line” [Nov. 1-7] begs further consideration.

As admitted in the article, Castroville is 86 percent Latino, so that’s a given. Also given is that young males account for the majority of civic disturbances and mischief. I know that when I was in my late teens and early 20s, a routine stop on a weekend would likely have given a cop adequate reason to bust me.

Also, we can’t deny there is a gang problem in many of our Central Coast cities, and in our area, Latinos constitute the majority of gang members.

Trained observers – and we must assume the police are trained – know that there are certain signs on or in a passing car that tend to equate with gangs. So, given all that, it doesn’t surprise me that the police stop a higher percentage of Latino young men.

While it is demeaning to be stopped when doing nothing wrong, if no arrests are made or tickets given, it is only the pride that’s hurt. The other option would be to turn a blind eye and allow a larger number of street crimes to be committed.

Guys my age are usually past the public trouble making stage, and a stop would do little beyond raising my blood pressure to dangerous levels.

In the end, there’s a fine line between racial profiling and the admission of stark reality. – Meade Fischer | Watsonville

LITTLE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER

After being away for two years, I return to Monterey for a visit and some work training to find that my once favorite bookstore, Bay Books is gone and soon to be replaced by a beauty store. Ironic, no? Replacing books for beauty? Seems to be a larger statement about our priorities as a society. Sigh. Guess I’ll be heading over to Borders for that Heinlein book I’ve been after. Bay Books, you are indeed missed, and long live the local merchant. – Danielle Wells | Monterey

RUN OUT OF HOUSE AND HOME

I have been closely following the LBAM spraying issue and feel like some basic rights we have as taxpayers and American citizens are being violated. Maybe the pheromone is harmless, however, the way the government is going about the spraying is just wrong.

I am a biology student in college, and if I can afford to leave town, I will. My entire family, many friends and neighbors plan to do the same, to avoid being sprayed. This is not right…we should not feel like we need to voluntarily evacuate our own homes because we feel threatened. Our health should be more important than any crops and ag businesses. If the spray is proven safe, and we are given a choice to have it sprayed on our neighborhoods, we will feel listened to and respected. We do not feel that way now.

Don’t allow them to spray our homes, our gardens, our pets, our children. We should not have to breathe this chemical if we don’t trust it. If it is safe, prove it to us. We do support the sticky traps and other non-spraying alternatives. – Stephanie Manning-Hodson | Santa Cruz

DON’T CALL HER UNPATRIOTIC

I, for one, am sick and tired of being told that if I am against the war, then I am against our troops. Our troops are awesome! They are brave and dedicated and selfless. They are tough but also compassionate peacekeepers. They risk life and limb and make incredible sacrifices without complaint. They are truly amazing and I salute them.

And that is why it is criminal to keep sending them back to a war that we cannot win and should never have started in the first place.

It is not patriotic to let more American soldiers die in this war. Our troops deserve better. – Debbie Tucker | Pacific Grove

CLARIFICATION

A Nov. 1 article, “PG’s Ps and Qs,” states that if attorney Carl Mounteer sues the city of Pacific Grove over Measure P and wins, he could be entitled to attorney’s fees. He clarifies that the 64 hours he said he put into the case was related to a complaint he filed in September, which was dismissed. While he will not receive fees for that complaint, he potentially could still receive fees for any time he puts into a successful post-election court challenge.