L.A.’s unique diversity; the ‘Irvine 11’ and free speech; property rights for the wealthy

The essence of L.A.

Re “A reunion symbolizes a city’s dream of harmony,” Column, Feb. 18

Hector Tobar has written a beautiful column that says perfectly why I live in the Los Angeles area.

The friendship between a newly arrived black man and Guatemalan immigrants symbolizes what L.A. is all about.

Every time I go where there is an assembly of people -- a museum, theme park, botanical garden, ballgame -- I see the diversity of the people. People just enjoying the experience -- and who are not all tied up mentally by racism, or xenophobia, or cultural bias.

I don’t believe I could live in a place that is totally dominated by one race, or one culture, or one nationality. The L.A. area is special.

Randell Hill
La Verne

Thanks for a great story.

When Booker Wade left the South, African Americans were in the same situation that many Latinos are in today in many communities.

Your stories continue to reinforce the importance of remembering our shared and common experiences, and I hope they continue to enlighten people and contribute to making people the best they can be.

Ed Tellis
Los Angeles

Civil or uncivil disobedience?

Re “Free speech and the ‘Irvine 11,’ ” Opinion, Feb 18

Sometimes disruptive behavior, or civil disobedience, is the only way to actually have your message heard.

Would that when Hitler made his first foray into politics there had been people who shouted him down at his rallies.

Free speech is too easily nullified, and civil disobedience is all that is left, particularly if you are a Palestinian whose family has spent the last 60 years in refugee camps after your land and business and property had been confiscated.

We Americans have a long history of civil disobedience as a remedy for denial of opposition, from the Freedom Riders to the Chicago Seven, to the anti- nuke movement, to the tree sitters. But then, history is too easily forgotten, particularly by those who would impose restrictions on “time, place and manner” of free speech.

Ed Coonce
Encinitas

Erwin Chemerinsky’s comparison of the disruption of the Israeli ambassador’s speech at UC Irvine with falsely shouting “fire” in a crowded theater is sophistic at best. The 11 students who protested caused no harm and posed no danger to the speaker or the audience. Their interruptions follow a time-honored if disruptive practice on campuses across the nation in acts of civil disobedience.

The real shame is that UC Irvine invited the ambassador of a nation that has been found responsible for war crimes in investigations by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

Whenever a critic of Israel speaks on our campuses, it is demanded that balance be ensured by having a pro-Zionist speaker. Michael Oren, like most Israeli supporters, was not subject to the same requirement.

Is it because they cannot refute the evidence of Israel’s crimes?

David Lloyd
Los Angeles

I disagree with Dean Chemerinsky. The 11 UC Irvine students should be expelled. These students participated in a planned and orchestrated disruption of a university-sanctioned event. It was not a spontaneous, heat-of-the-moment reaction, and they were specifically warned that this behavior was unacceptable. The result was a major embarrassment to the university and to the citizens of California.

Now it is time for them to face the consequences.

The UC system is currently reducing enrollment in response to state budget cuts. How can the university allow these students to continue, while at the same time rejecting other highly qualified, deserving applicants?

Expulsion is the price they need to pay. California taxpayers should not be required to subsidize this type of behavior.

John Norbutas
Camarillo

It is obvious to me that the people who disrupted the speaker at UCI don’t understand the Constitution and the right of freedom of speech.

I was taught in school that my rights stopped at the point at which they infringed on the rights of another citizen. Basic civics.

At home, my siblings and I were taught to listen respectfully to each other and wait our turn to speak. Basic good manners.

I agree that those involved should face “disciplinary proceedings,” as they were informed of the consequences of their actions and then willfully continued.

I don’t believe that their academic lives should be ruined, though. I see the need for required, in-depth instruction and discussion of our Constitution and, perhaps, a class in fundamental etiquette.

Sandra Clement
Anaheim

Property rights

Re “Ferrari garage grinds gears,” Feb. 4, and “A mogul and a lost view,” Column, Feb. 14

In the recent two “private property versus angry neighbor” situations that your paper has reported on (Jerry Bruckheimer’s Ojai Ranch tree debacle and the Hollywood Hills “garage bridge”), you seem to place a great deal of significance on the wealth of the people involved and their purported infractions against their neighbors.

Yet in both of these situations, the homeowners seem to have followed the laws in their communities and are operating within their rights.

When a private homeowner follows the laws and seeks the proper permits, he is following the old American adage that “a man’s home is his castle” and should be allowed that privilege regardless of how irritating it is to his neighbors.

The only power neighbors should wield exists within the laws that have been written for a community.

If they don’t like “trees” and “bridges,” then change the law. But until such time, give these homeowners some peace.

Kathy Allavie
Riverside

One-day stands

Re “A Valentine’s Day in vain,” Column, Feb. 16

I don’t get it.

You feel sorry for the sidewalk vendors who several times a year set up “business” on corners, selling flowers, baskets and stuffed animals.

They don’t pay a city business license fee and, most likely, pay no rent on the space, whereas legitimate business owners open their business almost every day hoping to make enough to pay the rent, pay the license fees, pay the taxes that are collected, pay their employees a fair wage and make a profit.

In these economic times, shouldn’t we support the legitimate businesses so that when times are better, those businesses can hire more people and/or expand their businesses?

Patricia Usary
Buena Park

‘Divide and conquer’ again

Re “Palin’s on the ‘beer track,’ ” Opinion, Feb. 12

Ron Brownstein talks about Sarah Palin using class division to possibly shape the 2012 GOP presidential race.

The fact that she is using class warfare to gain attention and prominence isn’t disturbing; the strategy of “divide and conquer” has been used for centuries.

What’s disturbing is the large number of Americans who are supporting her campaign of ignorance. She stated during her “tea party” speech in Nashville that “I’m never going to pretend like I know more than the next person.” That statement alone should disqualify her from running for president.

At a time when many American citizens base their opinions and judgments on 30-second sound bites and tweets, the fact that a person of Palin’s limited intellectual capacity can become a serious presidential candidate is yet another example of the dumbing down of America.

Matt Giorgi
Brea