Letters: Posey’s may have been great, but don't yearn for an unequal past

Re “Back then, Sacramento was fun-loving – and boozy. Remembering Posey’s and its owner” (Marcos Breton, Jan. 26): Marco Breton’s column yearning for a “more boozy” and “fun-loving” politics appeared the same day your paper reported that the state has paid out $25 million in sexual harassment settlements in the last three years. Breton’s beer goggles show him boozy fun and back-slapping. But the reality, even worse in the past, was and is a male-dominated politics with a seedy underbelly of harassment, abuse and rape. Nostalgia for a fun past is the province of men who miss that their half-remembered paradise was an experience in oppression for most other people. I’m sure Posey’s, where all that fun took place, was nice. And I don’t begrudge Breton his fond memories. But the last thing we need is a call for faux collegiality for the few. We should, instead, insist on empathy and equality for all.

This story was originally published January 30, 2018 at 1:40 PM with the headline "Letters: Posey’s may have been great, but don't yearn for an unequal past."