Effect of the ‘60s on the Have-Nots
Myron Magnet’s perspective on the 1960s (“How the ‘60s Doomed the Have-Nots,” Commentary, March 29) is not only damnable but the most twisted of historiography. Contrary to his assertion, the poor do work when offered jobs. He then states that three or four generations of pathology are the result of the ‘60s. The ‘60s were only one generation ago.
“Recreational” sex is not to blame for the disintegration of black families; racism and poverty since the Civil War are. Please see Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s seminal work of almost 30 years ago. The poor have been robbed of responsibility for their fate by lack of jobs, lack of education and lack of a future.
The different drummer that put mentally ill homeless people on the street was Ronald Reagan. He abolished the large institutions housing people, cut community care support to the bone and eliminated the mental health clinic network.
As one who has been working for a cultural revolution these last 30 years, I’d like to point out that rather than being one of Magnet’s “haves” I lived in a Huntington Beach trailer park 32 years ago.
So neither Magnet’s stereotypical view of the poor or those who fight for justice in this country is correct.
LARRY SULLIVAN
Venice
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
