Los Angeles Times - 04.04.2020

L ATIMES.COM/OPINION SATURDAY, APRIL 4, 2020A

OPINION

LETTERS

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As I sit home in isolation
like so many Americans, I
am disturbed and incensed
by the refusal of President
Trump and his fellow Re-
publicans in the White
House and Congress to act
judiciously and responsibly
in addressing the
coronavirus pandemic.
At no time have sincere
words of care, concern or
empathy come from their
ranks. Instead, they are in
full damage-control mode
through the use of lies,
misinformation and blame.
They undermined early
efforts at containment by
downplaying the need for
social isolation, perpetu-
ating conspiracy theories
among their supporters and
encouraging people to
congregate.
Their actions are self-
serving and irresponsible. A

$1,200 stimulus check will

not appease me or explain

away the fact that their

incompetence has been as

devastating as the virus

itself.

Doris K. Reed

Palm Desert

::

We are in the middle of a

pandemic, an event that will

go down as a once-in-a-

lifetime ordeal for everyone,

yet to the Los Angeles

Times it all takes a backseat

to the constant barrage of

bashing Trump and every-

thing he does.

Most Americans could

not care less about politics

at a time like this. They

want to show appreciation

for government officials at

all levels who are trying to

do what they can to get us

through this.

Even Gov. Gavin New-

som has been complimenta-

ry of the president, because

he realizes the danger this

pandemic poses to everyone

in the country.

Steve Selland

San Diego

::

After the 2016 election, it

was obvious that Trump

received more media cov-

erage than Hillary Clinton

mainly because of his ob-

noxious rhetoric and untrue

statements.

Now it is happening

again. He is using his daily

briefings as a political rally.

It is true that reporters are

able to ask questions, but

Trump manages to sell his

actions or attack reporters

or others in the room who

do not praise him.

Every day, every news-

paper and all television

stations report on Trump.

The coverage makes clear

that what the president is

doing is not helping with the

pandemic, but because

most people do not read the

articles, it looks as though

he is doing what is needed.

This is free advertising

for the president and his

reelection.

I tune out the daily White

House briefings until I see a

doctor or scientist come on.

I hope that the press will not

continue to give him this

bully pulpit and, instead,

cover those who are actually

on the ground fighting this

virus and the officials who

are encouraging the public

to act responsibly.

Jean Dragonette

Yorba Linda

Would Jesus go

to church now?

Re “Religion during the

pandemic,” editorial, April 2

Jesus said that the king-

dom of God is within you.

So, churches came into

being as physical, earth-

bound organizations to

speak about religion in the

hope of leading people to a

“spiritual state of being,”

which means a deep sense of

peace and guidance from

within our own soul.

Being in that state does

not require church attend-

ance, nor does church at-

tendance guarantee being

at peace within.

Our relationship with

God and our soul does not

depend on the church and

may even be improved by

the necessary current isola-

tion. There will be less out-

side physical and material

distractions to capture our

attention, making it easier

to look within.

Joanne Tatham

Irvine

::

Freedom of religion is

not when the government

says you can. Freedom of

assembly is not when the

government says you can.

The 2nd Amendment also

cannot be turned on and off.

This mindless trampling

of our constitutional rights

is without precedent.

Bob Munson

Newbury Park

::

Your editorial urging

that large religious gather-

ings should be avoided just

as any other large gather-

ings took the right ap-

proach. However, there is an

additional factor that is too

often lost in discussions like

these.

The framers of our Con-

stitution intended believers

and nonbelievers to be

equal before the law. If only

religious gatherings are

exempt from otherwise

enforceable rules barring

larger assemblies, then the

law is singling out religious

activities for special privi-

leges denied to everyone

else.

In order to secure the

constitutionally mandated

equality for all points of view

on faith, if religious people

are allowed to gather in

larger numbers, then so

should atheists and other

philosophically oriented

people who address life’s

grand issues.

The best policy, of

course, is for there to be no

sizable gatherings for any-

one during this health crisis.

Edward Tabash

Los Angeles

The writer is an attorney

and chairman of the board

of directors at the Center for

Inquiry.

Marijuana is

not ‘essential’

Re “ ‘Essential’ cannabis

sparks debate,” March 31

As an emergency physi-

cian, I believe treating mari-

juana shops as essential

businesses during the

COVID-19 pandemic is

shameful.

Has everyone forgotten

about the vaping-related

pneumonias that were

killing young people before

COVID-19 swept the world?

The main association be-

tween fatalities and the

acute respiratory failure we

were seeing was the use of

vaping products containing

marijuana.

Curiously, the ground-

glass appearance on radio-

logic studies now associated

with COVID-19 was first

seen in the vaping-related

pneumonias. Additionally

the “new and improved”

legal marijuana seems to

have a very different effect

on people than the marijua-

na of the 1980 and ’90s.

At a time like this when

healthcare providers are

going to be swamped with

victims of COVID-19, we

want to be minimizing

people’s risk for respiratory

illness and avoiding the

need for psychiatric beds for

violent, impaired individu-

als.

Not only is cannabis not

essential, it’s downright

dangerous.

Mary Kaye

Ashkenaze, MD

Laguna Niguel

::

Critics say that it doesn’t

make sense to allow people

to congregate at cannabis

stores when other busi-

nesses are closed because of

the pandemic.

What these critics do not

either know or understand

is that, since the pandemic,

it’s different at these dispen-

saries. You have to order

what you want online, either

to have it picked up at a

store or delivered to your

home.

If one elects to pick up at

the location, only a few

customers at a time can be

allowed on the premises,

just like at a market. Store

employees have masks on,

and that is only two employ-

ees — the person at the desk

and the security guard.

Just as with supermar-

kets, once the customers

who are in the store are

finished, a few more are

allowed inside.

Neil Snow

Manhattan Beach

Rob CarrAssociated Press

FORMER PRESIDENTObama, with President Trump on Inauguration Day, has stayed out of the spotlight.

Where’s Obama?

Re “Portraits of U.S. presidents facing a crisis,” Opinion, April 1

F

rom my six decadesof observation, it is obvious that a presidential “boys’ club” exists,

with past commanders in chief granting the current officeholder courtesies that their

predecessors afforded them as well. However, the COVID-19 pandemic requires an imme-

diate change in protocol to protect our country and the world from this burgeoning mal-

ady and its disastrous consequences.

Barack Obama and the other living ex-presidents have the ability to step to a microphone and

change history. With doctors and nurses falling gravely ill because of our nation’s lack of pre-

paredness, something they did not sign up for, it is past time for these past leaders to ascend the

bully pulpit and insist on a nationwide quarantine, a mobilization of military forces and a legal

directive from the federal government to private industry to manufacture all the needed personal

protective equipment and critical medical supplies.

Where is the outcry? Where are our leaders?

Jonathan Lewis, Wrightwood, Calif.

Long Beach resident
Thomas Gillman wants to
live to vote against the
president:
Like a lot of your senior
readers, I am angry as hell
and I won’t go quietly.
I have lived with AIDS
for 35 years; I have fought
three distinct types of can-
cer with enough surgery,
chemotherapy and radi-
ation for 20 more should
they come; I’ve lost sight in
one eye, and my hearing’s
going south as well; and I’ve

had six back surgeries.

I have not fought my way

through all of that to be a

willing statistic to this virus

that cannot be washed off

the hands of our defensive,

narcissistic president who

could have limited the scope

of this disaster had he been

paying attention.

Seniors, we are no man’s

lambs. We have to live to

make sure this man and his

party are voted out of office.

Diane Diamond of San

Luis Obispo cites the econ-

omic boost provided by

retirees:

Should we say goodbye

to granny for the good of the

economy?

Maybe before willfully

doing in a generation, we

should consider all the

unpaid hours that retirees

give to the country and its

economy. Experienced

seniors work for free in

schools, libraries, museums

and state parks. They serve

on community boards and

help feed homeless people.

They tend to grandchildren

so that their sons and

daughters can work full-

time jobs.

Next time politicians or

pundits call for human lives

to be sacrificed, they should

be reminded what those

lives have meant for their

communities.

Mission Viejo resident

Mary Carlson says seniors

can speak for themselves:

As a senior, I understand

how we become “invisible.”

Seeing articles about the

ethical choices medical

professionals might have to

make about who lives and

who dies, followed by the

example of a 20-year-old

versus an 80-year-old, really

disgust me.

I might ask if the 80-year-

old is the only source of

income for his four grand-

children. Would doctors be

taking the time to ask all of

these kinds of questions

before they make their

decisions?

I suggest that doctors

give older patients informa-

tion about the situation,

and then ask them outright

what they should do as

doctors.

Patients’ responses

would vary tremendously,

but I’ve had a wonderful life,

and I hope my response

would be to give the ventila-

tor to a person who needed

it more.

MAILBAG

Older and opinionated

T

here’s a groupoften bandied about in this pan-

demic as if its members are just another variable to

be considered in how we respond to the coronavirus:

older people. As it happens, our letter writers tend to skew

strongly to that demographic, and as you might have

guessed, they have thoughts about politicians who suggest
they should sacrifice their health for the country’s economy,

among other things.

The letters from readers who mention their advanced

age range in tone from somber to angry. Most striking to me

is the number of writers who have said they would forgo use

of a ventilator that could go to a younger patient.

—Paul Thornton, letters editor

Tom FoxDallas Morning News

TEXAS LT. GOV. Dan Patrick suggested seniors

could sacrifice their health for the economy.

Numbers

and letters

A quick breakdown of the

mail we received from

readers this week:

1,

Printable letters to the

editor were received

between last Friday and

this Friday.

649

Letters mentioned the

COVID-19 pandemic, the

week’s most-discussed

topic.

219

Of those letters were

written about President

Trump’s response to the

crisis.

34

Readers discussed the

Trump administration’s

rollback of vehicle fuel

efficiency standards, the

runner-up topic.

HOW TO WRITE TO US

Please send letters to

[email protected]. For

submission guidelines, see

latimes.com/lettersor call

1-800-LA TIMES, ext. 74511.

latimes.com/opinion

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