Better for our elders
Re: “Our elders need us” (Guest Comment, Nov. 4):
I found this commentary, although well-meaning, a truly sad commentary on our civilization.
[Joe Wills] says, as a society, elders must accept isolation from family and home so that children can find happiness with their nuclear families. Mr. Wills uses folk tales to help him deal with the sadness and loss he feels thinking of his mother’s lonely death. But, in reality, it is not unlike the tales of elders put adrift on ice flows when they are old.
Can’t we do better?
Cathy Eide
Durham
‘Back off the hate’
We have heard it said that eight homeless people and some lawyers are holding Chico hostage with the Warren v. City of Chico case. Looking a little deeper: In December 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition on behalf of the city of Boise, Idaho. The court said, unless homeless people had some other place to go, it was “cruel and unusual punishment” to enforce rules that stop them camping in public places.
It is the Supreme Court that is holding Chico to follow our nation’s Constitution.
One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all?
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39); “Just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40).
Let’s back off the hate and work together. It will be more fun and more effective.
Charles Withuhn
Chico
ADA triumphs—and a fail
People with disabilities and their allies won an important victory that benefits us all: Texas’ ban on mask mandates in schools was overturned and decision-making returned to the districts. Not to have done so would’ve discriminated against students with disabilities by risking their health. Integration has yielded a victory for us all!
And in another Americans with Disabilities Act-related case, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Uber regarding its ableist policy of allowing drivers to charge a passenger extra money if their boarding takes longer than 2 minutes. A win would benefit many Americans, including aging seniors acquiring disabilities, like myself. One standard for young, healthy people isn’t appropriate for all in an inclusive democracy. Thank you activists and allies.
Now, I wonder why Congressman Doug LaMalfa is allowed to operate an office in Chico that is unequal, discriminatory and inaccessible to people who use wheelchairs, walkers, crutches or who have serious arthritis or heart disease and to others who can’t climb a full flight of stairs? The office claims to have an “alternate” process, but there is no signage about it, it’s cumbersome with delays and there’s no way to signal staff upstairs to come downstairs. Why is this allowed by a congressman who claims to be a friend to vets?
Karen Duncanwood
Chico
Taking lives’ stock
How many human lives were lost when then-President Trump ordered meat-packing workers back to their jobs as “essential” workers? This was at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, before any vaccine was available. Conversely, how many lives have been saved by various mandates of the Biden administration regarding vaccines, masks, etc.?
Robert Woods
Forest Ranch
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