Phil Jackson and Arizona’s immigration law; Joe Mozingo’s search for his roots; dealing with taggers

Coach and critic

Re “Jackson enters the immigration arena,” May 18

Lakers coach Phil Jackson’s habitual, meandering doublespeak long ago confirmed that sports success is no proof of superior intellect. Of what value is so-called deep thinking when the crucial companion skill for intelligible articulation is absent? His political views on complex issues like immigration are best taken lightly or ignored.

Even in his team sport, he was very slow to recognize that depending on a single player for 90% of what is needed to gain a championship is a mistake. So how smart can he really be anyhow?

Go Lakers.

Cay Sehnert

South Pasadena

Jackson speaks his mind on Arizona’s right to make laws regarding illegal immigration, and what does The Times do? It prints photos of a few pro-open-border zealots protesting his statements outside Staples Center.

If The Times had been covering this issue responsibly, it would have included statements from many fans there not only supporting Jackson but also law and order.

Ron Romanosky

Tustin

Re “It’s bigger than basketball,” Opinion, May 19

Tim Rutten takes issue with Jackson’s tepid remarks about the new Arizona immigration law. He suggests that fans should withdraw their support for Jackson and the Lakers if they refuse to explicitly disavow the law.

In his Nov. 15, 2008, column (“The Prop. 8 intimidators,”) Rutten accused gay activists of unfairly engaging in a “witch hunt” when they sought to boycott businesses that provided financial backing to Proposition 8, the law that enshrined gays’ second-class status into the California Constitution.

Rutten characterized the corporate and individual financial backers of Proposition 8 as “vulnerable” victims of the “blacklist.” He stated: “A blacklist in the service of a good cause is still a blacklist.”

Hypocrite much?

Lee Moulin

Los Angeles

Rutten is boycotting the Lakers because of an opinion of Phil Jackson’s?

I guess that means if I disagree with Rutten’s opinion, I can boycott The Times. Thanks, Tim.

Chuck Quinn

Lake Forest, Calif.

Beyond the graffiti

Re “Spray-paint terrorism,” Opinion, May 17

I understand Mary MacVean’s trepidation in confronting a tagger, yet as I read on, I couldn’t help but ask why this is happening. I am a professional lettering artist, and it is a question I have been dealing with as I develop a graffiti diversion project here in Long Beach.

I want to give young artists an alternative by holding classes with professional lettering artists, presenting mentors in creative careers and having a safe place for them to express themselves. Some graffiti is gang-related, but a lot of it is simply young people making a name for themselves and attempting to belong to a group.

The young people I have met are polite and eager to learn. Until we confront the reasons why people would risk their lives to write on a wall, the problem will remain.

After-school art programs are essential to begin to eradicate the urge to vandalize property. Unfortunately, these programs are among the first in line for cutbacks.

Lisa Engelbrecht

Long Beach

I suggest that we stop calling the individuals who deface property “taggers” or members of “tagging crews.” A crew is a group of people who do a necessary job, not a gang marking its territory with spray-paint on every available space.

My dog does that by lifting his leg when I walk him.

Jack Redmond

North Hollywood

Mozingo’s family tree

Re “A family secret,” three-part series, May 16-18

I have taken a journey similar to Joe Mozingo’s off and on for 19 years. I too have visited Virginia and encountered many of the same obstacles. Like Mozingo, I came upon discoveries that made it all worthwhile.

With the help of a genealogist, I was able to trace my roots back to a family member born in the 1780s. As an African American man, it is with great pride that I can tell my two children that our family’s pre-Civil War presence in America was not entirely a slave experience. My 11-year-old son used these articles for his 6th-grade current events report this week.

We have come a long way, yet we have so much still to learn from each other in this great country.

Sheldon Wright

Temple City

I think this whole subject of genealogy is nonsense. The name is associated with the male part of the line, so you immediately throw away 50% of the data, then 50% of the remaining 50%, then 50% of that 50% and so on. After several generations back, your data represents less than 1% of your genes.

Then there is the whole subject of whether the earliest Mozingo was black or white. If we go back in time, we all come from black people who lived, thrived and invented humanity in Africa. Why does it matter whether the ancestor was black before or after the ancestor left Africa?

Julia Dunphy

Harbor City

Thank you for the inspiring and insightful series. Mozingo shows us the tragedy and triumph of seeking knowledge about our heritage.

This beautifully written series should be a must-read for schoolchildren who may need courage to accept their own heritage and to seek the truth for themselves. Bravo to Joe Mozingo!

Paula Williams

Pacific Palisades

For three days The Times made it front-page news that a white family in the United States might have African American blood running in their veins. This is truly mind-boggling and more than a little embarrassing.

Racial purity is not news. It might be deeply interesting to folks working out a family tree, and to politicians looking for rallying cries, but honestly, it’s not news.

Mark Arnott

Los Angeles

Mozingo’s work uncovers what is so exceptional about Americans: We are truly a global people.

As he unwinds the strands of his own DNA, I’m filled with thoughts of my wife, children and myself. Together we claim French, Ukrainian, Yugoslav, African, German, English, Welsh, Scot, Colonial American, Hebrew and Haitian heritage. A family blended together; the American masala. It’s remarkable, actually.

Timothy J. Pershing

Topanga

Putting the spotlight on the Mozingo family illuminates the whole country. Thanks, Joe, and thanks to The Times.

Stan Brothers

Glendale

Bad bill

Re “A hold-your-nose climate bill,” Editorial, May 17

I must have read your editorial three times searching for the benefits you say are in the bill. The closest I could come was the mention of the bill “capping the total amount of greenhouse gases” that polluters could emit.

What you fail to say is that the cap is way too high to change anything in a significant way for at least 20 years. The negatives you identify are just the tip of the iceberg and are not even the worst of the bad things in this bill.

This bill is a huge step backward. Polluters and Wall Street will win and win big. Why are they lobbying so hard to pass this thing if it isn’t going to boost short-term profits and protect them from effective legislation for the next two decades?

Richard Green

San Clemente

A better MTA

Ted Rall takes a cheap shot at Metro with his May19 editorial cartoon joking that Metro is raising fares and cutting service to encourage bike riding.

Rall ignores the fact that more than a dozen new rail, bus and highway improvement projects, funded by Measure R, are moving ahead. And the pending fare increase — only the third in the past 15 years — will not affect more than half our customers. There will be no increase for students, seniors, the disabled and Medicare recipients until 2013 thanks to Measure R.

Incidentally, Metro also has invested about $200million in bike facilities and programs to encourage commuters to cycle throughout the year.

Marc Littman

Los Angeles

The writer is a spokesman for the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority.