Anti-gang steps are predictable

Re “Politics clouds anti-gang fight,” March 10

The picture of smiling politicians along with the headlines regarding the continuing stalemate over what to do about gang violence is so L.A. The same faces appear as they rotate from county to city to state elected posts; meanwhile, the body count continues.

You can always count on these politicians to show up with sullen faces at the crime scenes hours later, decrying the violence that they choose not to deal with year after year.

As long as our city accepts a single party filled with self-serving, spineless hacks, we will continue to watch as L.A. commits suicide.

Michael Blazey

Porter Ranch

Our National Guard is busy providing safety in Iraq. Our drug laws underwrite and subsidize gang activity. Our movies glamorize killing with a gun. Our newspaper publicizes gangs by printing their names. Let’s all act surprised.

Jon Hartmann

Los Angeles

Re “Fact and fiction on L.A.’s mean streets,” Opinion, March 6

The top-down solution to our anti-gang programs will never work. What needs to happen is to call together the leaders of all gang-related programs and ask them to develop criteria for measuring success.

Only by enlisting them all in finding the solution to the mess we have now will there be any hope of dealing with all the fiefdoms within the bureaucracy and the nonprofit community that stand in the way of a rational approach.

Dorothy Green

Los Angeles