Letters: Want to show true patriotism? Challenge Trump's military parade with peaceful protests
On Saturday, while tanks rumble down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., for President Donald Trump's military parade, we must rally against the cruelty and madness of this administration.
Perhaps Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young or other great performers can give free concerts, all voices against what is being perpetrated against law-abiding citizens, legal residents and migrants seeking asylum in our country.
Come all protesters, music lovers and peaceful people from all backgrounds who are the backbone of this once great country. Let us take back Flag Day from those who have no understanding of what our flag represents and show the world that good, empathetic human beings populate our country.
I challenge political leaders and celebrities to organize this quickly around the country to celebrate humanity. There are too many vulnerable people who need to know that we have their backs.
Mitchell Goldman, Richmond
Kindness amid ugliness
Regarding 'How support helped AB Hernandez, trans track and field champ 'with mad attitude,' brave national backlash' (High School, SFChronicle.com, June 9): Thank you for the wonderful story about AB Hernandez; her accomplishments to date, on and off the field, bode well for her aspirations in life.
But let's not forget the kindness and affection shown her by her fellow competitors. The decade is only half over, and promises to be eventful, but I already have my photograph of the 2020s — the podium picture of Hernandez and her co-runner-up, arm in arm, glowing in accomplishment and togetherness. In that unforgettable moment, these two young women showed us moral compasses that point true north.
Four centuries ago, Shakespeare reminded us that 'when lenity and cruelty play for a kingdom, the gentler gamester is the soonest winner.'
Current events are putting that proposition to a stern test, but when I read about the twisted view of humanity at work in Washington and around the nation, I will remember that photo and feel better.
Bill Koopman, Palo Alto
Lowell High is elitist
Regarding 'These graduating Lowell students were called 'lottery kids.' The stigma never went away' (San Francisco, SFChronicle.com, June 6): 'You belong in every room you walk into,' Lowell High Principal Jan Bautista said at the commencement for the school's class admitted through the lottery system.
The sad truth is that students like them will no longer 'belong' at the school even though the data shows they were just as able as students accepted through test scores.
Yet, the San Francisco school board has no plans to reconsider Lowell's merit-based admissions policy. This is despite data and evidence that show that such admissions and hiring policies are contributors to class and racial inequality.
As a San Franciscan committed to fighting the worsening inequality in this city, I'm grateful to the now-ousted school board members for having made lottery admissions at Lowell possible, if only for a couple of years.
Given the data from these graduates, as long as Lowell stays elitist in its admissions policy, it will remain not our star in the school system, but our shame.
Dave Madden, San Francisco
RFK Jr. is bad for health
Regarding 'RFK Jr. ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory committee' (Nation & World, SFChronicle.com, June 9): Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is worse than an anti-vaccine activist or vaccine skeptic. He is a vaccine cynic. He does not understand the scientific method in clinical trials.
Real scientists, such as the 17 who were ousted Monday by Kennedy from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, are always skeptics. Seeing is believing for them. They want to see data in appropriate clinical trials before they will accept that a proposed treatment is safe and effective.
On the other hand, Kennedy is a cynic. He only sees what he already believes, even when repeatedly confronted with properly conducted research that refutes his beliefs. In his position of authority, this obstinacy is a danger to the health of us all and will lead to a rise in vaccine-preventable diseases.
Brian Klein, San Francisco
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