Letters to the Editor: Readers write on IKEA; the bike versus horse battle on local bridge; stopping child predators
Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of the IKEA furniture empire, has died at the age of 91. It is an appropriate time to revisit the period when the Burbank City Council handed over the keys to the city to IKEA in order to keep the brand in Burbank. In the 1940s Kamprad was involved in Swedish fascism and was tied to the Nazi party. Later, he blamed his German grandmother’s strong support for Adolf Hitler for his support of the Nazis. Kamprad’s company, IKEA , also utilized forced labor in the construction of some of its stores in East Germany in early 1980s.
None of these facts were important to the City Council when it approved the construction of a huge new IKEA store in Burbank several years ago. Burbank’s leaders made virtually unlimited concessions to IKEA , some of which were never disclosed to the public. Part of First Street was even renamed “IKEA Way,” and there are many signs on the streets directing traffic to the store. No other businesses in the city bear such an official endorsement.
The members of the City Council who supported the IKEA deal should do some genuine soul searching about why they provided such enthusiastic support to the brainchild of a Nazi white supremacist. They put dollars ahead of morality, and pleading ignorance is not an excuse for their shameful decision.
Thomas Saito
Burbank
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My most heartfelt thanks go out to the Burbank International Film Festival for nominating, in the 2017 Short Documentary category, “The Bridge To Nowhere,” which my friend and colleague, Alexander Gall, and I made together. This documentary movie was filmed along the L.A. River Bike Path near Burbank and dealt with issues such as the battle over the Mariposa Street Bridge between horseback riders and bicyclists, as well as the future of the big river itself. We are especially proud of our stunning aerial drone videos seen in the film.
On a related issue, I was in court this week getting a jury trial scheduled for March 6 in Burbank for my crime of walking a bicycle across the Mariposa Bridge in violation of a law, which has Burbank standing alone in all the world making it illegal to be in possession of one’s own bike on a public space. All are welcome to attend the proceedings.
Doug Weiskopf
Burbank
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Sadness. Grief. Disbelief. Fear. Concern. Anger. Outrage. Embarrassment. Maybe some helplessness? We’ve all felt it over the last weeks of watching what has happened in the sport of gymnastics to athletes of all ages and abilities, over decades, by former Olympic team doctor Larry Nassar.
How could this have happened without someone knowing? How was it missed? Why weren’t children and young athletes believed when they told? Those are the questions of the day understanding how child sexual abuse can happen in our sport, in our culture, in our community, and doing all that we can to stop it from ever happening. We within the gymnastics community are discussing this at length. At Golden State Gymnastics in Burbank, we have long had policies to guard against this kind of behavior and we are diligent about training our staff. As a private organization, however, we are limited in our reach. The subject of child sexual abuse needs to be brought into the light. We as a community must hold each other accountable.
This is an uncomfortable subject for most people. That needs to change. Discussion, understanding, awareness and prevention needs to include parents and community members in every sport, school, church, club, dance school, martial arts school, ice skating rink, music lesson — everywhere children are. And so, we will start. And we ask you to join us.
We encourage all parents to utilize the free resources that are available in our community and online to educate yourselves about awareness and prevention. Know what “grooming behavior” looks like. Do not be flattered when an adult shows special interest in your child and looks for opportunities to be alone with them. You will increase your chances of protecting your children. An easy place to start educating yourself and your children is by contacting the Kidsafe Foundation at https://kidsafefoundation.org/.
Camille Goldberg
Burbank