Opinion: Ohio vs. L.A. on honoring the unclaimed dead and abortion

To the editor: Diana Wagman’s recent visit to Cincinnati left her pondering Ohio’s rather monochromatic populace and lifestyle. Her return to L.A. re-immersed Wagman in the variegated milieu of our far more diverse society. (“I was in mourning, so I went to a funeral — for 1,400 people,” Opinion, Dec. 11)

She thereupon attended the Los Angeles County annual burial rite for unclaimed remains. Participants in these rites represented a wide range of beliefs; all solemnly gave the 1,430 decedents their due, with moving prayers and tributes.

Wagman related how Cincinnati, by contrast, had summarily buried 86 unclaimed remains in 2011 without a ceremony. Still, she opted not to bash Ohio.

I think Wagman went too easy on the state. After all, antiabortion activists there are pushing for laws to mandate “dignified” cremation or burial for all aborted fetuses. Such rank hypocrisy warrants a sound bashing of the Buckeye State.

Betty Turner, Sherman Oaks

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To the editor: Reading Wagman’s piece on the dignified way in which L.A. inters its unclaimed dead has further reinforced my belief that I wasn’t wrong when I decided to make Los Angeles my second home.

Notwithstanding its label as a sanctuary county of California, it has proved itself as a cosmopolitan Eden for those of us who have wished to enjoy life the way we wanted it to be.

Randy Altarejos, Carson

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