Letters to the Editor

Editor:

I am disturbed by the anger that I am seeing expressed in north Orange County and Leisure World by Republicans toward liberals and Democrats.

Starting with the ad by the Republican Club in the LW Weekly, I have experienced a vileness and hatred that I never had seen before toward those with differing beliefs and opinions.

I was active in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, participating in marches for racial equality, including a sit-in in Washington D.C. striving for voting rights for Black people.

I am white. Never have I seen the hatred that I see in the eyes and voices of the opposition. While I disagree with the stands the Republicans are taking now, I do not feel or express the same amount of anger and hatred that I am experiencing here in Leisure World or in the nation toward conservatives. I am worried for our democracy.

I attended a meeting with Katie Porter in Huntington Beach Saturday with the president of the Democratic Club in Leisure World.

We were greeted with an angry group of people shouting and surrounding us. The look on the face of one of the demonstrators near me as she screamed, “Hey, Hey, Ho Ho, Katie Porter has to go” was pure hatred. I felt intimidated.

I feel that I can no longer say the Pledge of Allegiance to my beloved country because it no longer exists. It is not the country that I love with all of my heart.

Bonnie Coomes Mutual 10 Editor:

I’m writing in response to the letters that were printed in the Oct. 6 and Oct. 13 editions of the LW Weekly. They were in response to a Republican Club advertisement on Sept. 29. I’m an advocate of free speech, the centerpiece of our Bill of Rights. I’m appalled at the contempt for this freedom exhibited by the writers of these letters.

Their comments: “why is this...permitted?,” “shame on the LWN for being a vehicle,” “question why it was in,” and “appalled...by the choice to give voice” epitomize their disdain for this vital freedom. The letters are also ironic, as the writers are surely self-described “liberals.” The Latin root of that word, “liber” means “free.”

This situation wasn’t always this way. As recently as the 20th century, the liberals of that era were the most vocal supporters of free speech. What a shame that the writers of these letters have such scorn for our most important freedom.

Lawrence Edgar Mutual 9 Editor:

After all the dissention the last couple of weeks in the community, I just saw that Leisure World Seal Beach was voted one of top 10 senior communities in the United States that are situated near the shoreline. What a big plus for sales at this time of buying and selling houses.

Then to my horror, a Los Angles Times article came across my path that was shocking. Now that we are almost out of the political divide, this is brought to the surface. It is not a good report and very sad. Is this the reputation we want to be known for in our home? I would hope as mature adults we would want to do better in our last days on this earth. Check it out for yourself. The headline is “Retirees Lament ‘Venom’ in Politics,” by Tyrone Beason.

Doris Sandrick Mutual 10 Editor:

On Nov. 4, I received a call at 6 p.m. from a LW Duplicate Bridge Club member who said that her friend Marcia had lost her medicine while playing bridge in Clubhouse 1 that afternoon. I am a board member of the club and have a key to our locker.

I told her it was very unlikely that the medicine would end up in our locker and tried to get more details about the loss.

She called back and said the medicine was very expensive and asked if I would please go to Clubhouse 1 to see if it was turned into “lost and found.”

My wife and I had just finished dinner and agreed to go check.

We found custodian Juan Luis Quezada, who said the medicine might be in the coat room. We checked, and it was not there. We checked the ladies room and no luck there either.

The custodian graciously offered to check the garbage from the afternoon. He pulled out several plastic bags of trash and saw a small bottle inside one of the bags.

We retrieved it and saw it was a prescription and three-fourths full. There was no name on the bottle, but it had the name of the medicine.

We called Marcia, and sure enough, it was her medicine. Boy, was she relieved. Many thanks to Juan Luis Quezada, who offered to go through the trash to search for and find the lost medicine.

Fred Reker Mutual 12 Editor:

The VA Hospital in Long Beach is now accepting donations of 2023 calendars for its patients.

Residents can drop off 2023 calendars for veterans in a box located at 1601 Golden Rain Road, 117-E.

Donations will be accepted through Jan. 31.

Thank you for joining me in remembering our heroes.

Garnet Vyduna Mutual 5 Editor:

The newly remodeled Aquatic Center is a great addition and much used.

A front page story in the Nov. 3 edition stated that GRF is looking for ways to expand operating hours.

I am not sure we need to do this given the fact that there are currently slack periods when no one or only a few people are using the facility.

To purchase a robotic pool vacuum would eventually impact our monthly maintenance fees, which are quite high already.

The two attendants there already in my observation seem to handle all their duties timely and competently.

Peter Sego Mutual 12