Dealing With Noisy Neighbors

The front-page article about ear-splitting noise from private parties (“This Noise (Thump) Must Stop!” Oct. 1) may help enlighten the public as to how difficult a job it is for the police to enforce the law in this city.

Mention was made in the article that even having consensus as to what constitutes too much noise at night is very difficult in L.A. because there are so many different cultures here. That viewpoint, unfortunately, is used too often to justify rude, uncivil behavior in our city. It not only allows people to rationalize and justify trashing the environment, destroying property with graffiti and disturbing neighbors with loud parties, but also contributes to unfair stereotypes of other cultures.

I would imagine that if one were to visit the ancestral countries of any immigrant group in L.A., one would discover strong traditional attitudes toward respecting the rights of others.

Manners and civility are not the domain of certain cultural or ethnic groups. Being a good citizen should be expected from everyone.

BOB McKAY

Van Nuys

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Thank you for the wonderful article on people blasting their music and/or having loud parties. The solution is simple. Fine the noisemakers. A small amount for the first offense (to get their attention) and a large amount for the second and larger for the third. Unfortunately, the only thing that these people understand is money. Maybe that will teach them to have respect for others.

If we could only cut the calls by half, we could free the police to do more important things.

PAUL R. MICKELSON

Los Angeles

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The article on noise touched a raw nerve. Noisy parties shouldn’t be over four hours, nor above a certain level of decibels, nor past 1 a.m. Police should use common sense or a decibel meter to determine when to quiet a party, so neighbors do not have to sign a complaint.

AL GARNER

Midway City

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USC anthropology professor Andrei Simic is quoted as saying, “On the most abstract level it has something to do with the lack of public consensus, the lack of cultural consensus about what the rules of behavior are.” Is that the $2 term for “diversity”?

JOHN HOPKINS

Sierra Madre