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Fremont’s camping ban
discounts compassion
Re: “Homeless camp ban is among state’s toughest” (Page B1, Feb. 13).
As we collectively wade through the Trump administration’s dismantling of our federal institutions, it is natural to hope that our local politics are shielded by such callousness. Fremont’s camping ordinance and other Bay Area policies demonstrate the contrary. In another instance of our cities turning on the impoverished, San Jose’s OLIVE Program is actively towing RVs that are keeping people out of the cold and rain.
The unfortunate truth that we all must contend with is that homelessness will get worse under the Trump presidency. The actions in his administration guarantee that he will gut the social safety net keeping countless people from the edge of homelessness.
Cities must prepare for that reality right now and put in protective measures to both stem the tide of homelessness and humanely manage the issue. We must be deliberate and compassionate in response to the unconstrained cruelty in the current administration, not reflect it.
Tiffay Ngo
Oakland
Trump’s mishandling of
global affairs hurts U.S.
Re: “Russia entices Trump with partnership talk” (Page A1, Feb. 20).
Recent attempts by Donald Trump to end the war in Ukraine involve blatant extortion, along with lies and government corruption.
Trump’s mishandling of the global diplomatic situation — falsely claiming that Ukrainian President Zelenskyy began the war, excluding Ukraine from initial U.S. “peace” talks with Russia and demands that Ukraine compensate the U.S. for aid freely given under the Biden administration to bolster Ukrainian resistance to Russian aggression — puts our country in peril of exploitation or worse and Ukraine in peril of takeover by Russia.
Having been misled by Trump’s lies spread by social media and biased news sources, those who voted for him will never or only slowly learn of his serious disqualifications for the presidency. In the meantime, “We the People” must resist the horrendous assaults on our democracy by Trump, the would-be dictator, and his enablers.
Ruby MacDonald
El Cerrito
Fremont turns its back
on the vulnerable
Re: “Fremont prepares move against homeless camps” (Page A1, Feb. 11).
An epidemic of crime has engulfed our idyllic city of Fremont. Six hundred homeless people have been criminalized for living on their streets. Additionally, anyone aiding or abetting a homeless camp is also criminalized. Fremont’s City Council, headed by Mayor Raj Salwan, voted 6-1 to make it so.
What has happened to my Fremont where race, color, ethnicity, nationality, and sexual and gender identity all melded seamlessly together? Wallet Hub, in 2024, voted Fremont the best city in the country in which to raise a family; scratch that honor.
Some of us are homeless through no fault of our own. That distinction alone is significant enough to ostracize them from their community. Apparently, we can discard the parable of the Good Samaritan as outdated.
Where are the people who know how to organize a recall election? We need elected officials who are humanistic, merciful, compassionate and empathetic. Make Fremont great again.
Larry Quilici
Fremont
Musk’s chainsaw stunt
should bring reproach
I was quite appalled at the recent video of Elon Musk gleefully using a chainsaw at CPAC as a prop to emphasize his slashing of government agencies and departments.
Aside from any other considerations, he seems to have zero compassion for the men and women who have lost their jobs. I have no doubt that if the previous administration had made such draconian cuts and President Joe Biden had the audacity to utilize a chainsaw in a similar manner, the right’s outrage and condemnation would have been truly tremendous.
Mark Gabin
Concord
World events show
history’s lessons fade
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On May 7, 1945, in Reims, France, the Nazis surrendered to Allied forces. This marked the end of World War II and was widely regarded as the defeat of Nazism. In 1954 John Franklin Enders and Thomas C. Peebles developed a vaccine for the measles that was approved by the FDA for use in 1963. This marked what was thought to be the end of measles outbreaks. For decades it was believed that both measles and Nazis had been eradicated.
The current rise in fascism and the current measles outbreak in Texas, which has resulted in the first death of an unvaccinated child in over a decade, are an indication that the lessons of history are fading.
Barry Gardin
Hayward
