Murder on L.A. streets

Re “Weekend of death,” editorial, June 10

As terrible as deaths from gang violence are, it is long overdue that deaths from war, murder, accidents and other causes be put in some kind of perspective.

I think the easiest way to understand the situation would be to have a tally on the front page of The Times of Iraq casualties, local gang murders, local domestic murders, local traffic fatalities and possibly even deaths from medical malpractice in Southern California.

As macabre and disturbing as these statistics might be, we could at least then prioritize our outrage and focus our attention on those responsible. It may be that we should be more concerned with what leaders are doing locally than what national leaders are doing abroad.

Richard Hart

Northridge

So now we’ve had another bloody weekend of shootings in Los Angeles. According to The Times, most of these were gang-related. This is urban terrorism, pure and simple. How can we in Los Angeles or any other American city tolerate terrorism?

So many of us are concerned about terrorism in the Middle East, in Darfur, in Europe. When are we going to worry about terrorism in the United States? We can’t expect local police to deal with this, especially in Los Angeles, where the force is severely limited. This issue fails to arouse those who live in so-called better communities. But as a resident of L.A. who has lived through a horrific gang shooting, in front of our house, there is no comfort in being in a “better” neighborhood. If you or your children travel the streets, you are vulnerable. It is time we all demand better protection. Start with outrage and go from there.

Sydney Weisman

Los Angeles