Editor:
The January 2017 book review of Hannah Arendt’s book regarding Adolf Eichmann was going well until the senior editor began spouting off about the president of the United States of America. This leads us to believe that the senior editor is a member of the third and unofficial national political party, “The Mediacratic Party.”
Issue is taken with the following:
“That being said I couldn’t help but feel uneasy with the negatively tainted rhetoric coming from the U.S. president-elect against Mexicans and Muslims and its similarity to 1930s Germany’s vicious criticisms against the Jews that resulted in the holocaust.”
The Holocaust was the product of a psychopath attempting genocide of an entire race of people. Many of my people were needlessly slaughtered because they didn’t fit the psychopath’s ideal of a pure white race.
The president is not against Mexicans; he is against illegal aliens. It is a crime to enter the United States of America outside of proper procedures. My ancestors, like many Americans, came here legally through Ellis Island. They applied for U.S. citizenship the proper way. They did not scale a wall and sneak in unannounced. If someone steals something, they are guilty of a crime. If they are not caught for that theft for 10, 15 or 20 years, are they suddenly not guilty of committing the crime?
The president is not against Muslims; he is against radicalized Muslim terrorists. It is the duty of the office of the president of the United States of America to protect the citizens of the United States from all threats, both foreign and domestic. The president is anti-terrorist, and it makes no difference to him what a person’s ethnicity or faith is.
The senior editor then would potentially chastise “law-abiding government workers” for “executing to the best of his or her ability the full force of the law in the United States.” Apparently, in his view, laws were made to be broken.
To “think about millions of undocumented people in America who are in peril of deportation”… Peril? If you run a red light while driving, then you are in “peril” of receiving a citation; that’s how the law works. Maybe next time you won’t run the light and potentially kill somebody!
To compare (Trump) to Adolf Hitler is completely uncalled for, unwarranted, and unprofessional.
J. Weston
Dear J.A. Riccardi:
After receiving your letter to the editor regarding December 2016’s article about Sgt. Cuevas, members of the editorial board felt it was necessary to print it in San Quentin News. In addition, I felt the need to respond personally, as I cannot imagine how it must have felt being on Death Row. I would assume that it is a very deserted and lonely place.
I spoke to Sergeant Cuevas after your letter was printed and he said that he remembered you. He said he wishes you well where you are. He also commented on how he would sometimes stop by your cell and others. He made sure to speak to everyone who wanted to talk. For you to recognize that a correctional officer took time to speak to you when he didn’t have to seems unforgettable. I also want to highlight the fact that prisoners and correctional officers work together through jobsites and programs. It is a working relationship that sometimes results in correctional officers writing letters of recommendation to the parole board for those prisoners who have made significant changes in their lives. So, thank you for your letter and the promotion of positive behavior.
I hope that we can get Ms. Roberta Gonzales from KPIX Channel 5 News and Sgt. Cuevas to meet in the near future.
Richard “Bonaru” Richardson
Editor-in-Chief
