Racism in America, health care, childish politicians

Racism in U.S. has gotten worse

Re “Why is there still racism in America?” (Letters, July 14): Karen Cochran is correct. The country is set on pointing out the different races when referring to anything, especially the media. We are Americans and until we voted for a black president, we were doing very well in taking care of all of our people. We were mostly getting along as Americans. How many hundreds of years have we gone backward in the last eight years? I only hope we can recover before I am no longer here.

Yes, there still is racism in America

“The Birth of a Nation,” originally called “The Clansman,” is a 1915 silent film that influenced government and started an institutional core of racism in the United States. Private homes had restrictive covenants that forbade selling homes to non-whites; they were enforced by various government agencies, denying wealth building that Caucasians enjoyed.

The G.I. Bill did not specifically discriminate, but was interpreted differently for blacks than for whites. Historian Ira Katznelson argues that the law was deliberately designed to accommodate Jim Crow. Because the programs were directed by white officials, minority veterans lost out.

The “War on Drugs” seems to be a war on minorities. Imagine if drug addiction was defined as a disease like alcoholism, many minorities would not be saddled with a criminal record. Sadly, I could list more examples of institutional racism in America. So yes, there is still racism in America.

Racism is a learned behavior

Our son did not know about “race” until fifth grade, when he was taught about Martin Luther King Jr. He always described people as being different shades of tan. He was right, biologically it is melanin in the skin. Racial prejudice/bias is a learned behavior.

What happened to civilization?

They always say history repeats itself. However, I’m afraid racism has reared its ugly head once again. What happened to civilization? What happened to human kindness? Our home has always been open to all; I suppose we were color blind. Hugs were used for entry, extra pillows and blankets if you needed to stay. Kindness filled the air, still we were color blind.

Now tears fall for strangers, confusion fills my head. Why? Is there an imaginary railroad track I’m unaware of? Which side of the tracks is the right side? Is there a sign I can’t see, as I am still color blind.

Missing the mark on doctor access

Re “Even with health care reform, it is hard to find a doctor” (Viewpoints, July 12): In highlighting the difficulty some individuals had in finding a doctor, Dan Weintraub highlights a problem that existed before Covered California was created to help people get health insurance. The good news is that access to doctors in the exchange was no worse than those seeking doctors outside the exchange.

Starting in 2017, Covered California is taking an important new step: all enrollees will select or be provisionally assigned a primary care physician within 60 days of enrollment so that they have an advocate and entry point for health care. This is just one of the many ways Covered California is working to promote the right care at the right time for our consumers.

In the meantime, it’s important to make sure that anyone having difficulty finding a physician knows they can reach out to their insurer and get assistance finding a doctor who can serve them.

Gamesmanship, childish politicians

Re “Democrats’ top guns feuding” (Insight, July 8): In his column, Dan Walters notes the intra-party gamesmanship between Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León over dueling gun control legislation and gun control ballot initiatives. While these new laws would do little for public safety, they will likely be used in campaign advertising in the 2018 elections.

It’s interesting to note that while de León moved his legislation through the Legislature and on to the governor’s desk at what is warp speed for our lawmakers, bills that would control drones in wildfire areas – bills that could have a dramatic effect on public safety – languish while the Legislature takes a month-long break. Obviously these bills aren’t as important as gamesmanship.

This story was originally published July 18, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Racism in America, health care, childish politicians."