Dear Editor, Now that I have stopped laughing, and gloating, at the March 1 “Riffraff in the parks” article, I will share some thoughts.
When I was in my 20s, after a long day at work in the blessed summer heat (my favorite time of year, with triple-digit temperatures), my buddies and I would go to a park, crack open a few beers, and fire up cigars. We weren’t harassing anyone, just keeping to ourselves. There were no used needles in the parks, no fenced-off school greens, and if there were drug sales, it was kept discreet.
Society’s whiners complained back then, too, because of the ancient social stigma about drinking in public, and because they have nothing better to do but to meddle into other people’s business. That was 25 years ago, and I seethe whiners are still infecting us.
About 10 years ago, maybe less, said whiners got the best of City Council and they banned booze in almost all parks except a couple during certain hours. And the two Peters on Council tried to ban smoking.
These laws just give a green light to police harassment; no wonder one of the whiners in the article mentioned seeing a park-goer insulting a police officer. Good for the citizen (who was not arrested and thus not breaking any law, but clearly being harassed)!
Guess what?! With more laws, they now have exponentially more problems! The tailspin of more control, less freedom, and more problems has now been exhibited at the local level. Congratulations to City government at its best!
Alan Viarengo, Gilroy
