Gang Crossroads

Your editorial “Curb Gang Trouble Now” (Aug. 14) was right on target. Unfortunately, our Police Department recently tried to rub a balm on our anxieties by claiming that the death of four persons does not necessarily augur the growth of gang activity in San Diego.

While that may be true, it is my understanding that many diseases, such as cancer, have an innocuous beginning before reaching more devastating proportions as they spread to the rest of the body.

The social fabric of our city is now at the crossroads. We have the appropriate environment for the growth of gangs: an increasing and still largely neglected minority population, made up largely of fatherless families; proximity to the international border, from which most drugs flow; many children left unsupervised, since both parents work; a growing disparity between wealth and poverty (represented by the proliferation of luxury condominiums all over the city); a reluctance to face reality for the sake of preserving the city’s image.

These were the factors that led to the city of Los Angeles’ present predicament. Western civilization is based on the belief that God gave us a will with which to act. If we use it, we don’t have to become another Los Angeles.

RAMON OCEGUERA

San Diego