Letters to the Editor: Fine, stay in Europe. We'll be here to care for our fellow Californians

Los Angeles Times Opinion
·2 min read
JUNIPER HILLS, CA - SEPTEMBER 20: A thank-you sign posted by thankful residents is posted as a firetruck races by as the Bobcat fire continues to burn in the Angeles National Forest in Juniper Hills Sunday, Sept. 20, 2020. Some houses and structures in the Juniper Hills area were lost in the Bobcat fire but most were saved. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Firefighters drive past a thank-you sign in Juniper Hills on the north side the San Gabriel Mountains, as the Bobcat fire continues to burn in the Angeles National Forest on Sept. 20. (Los Angeles Times)

To the editor: Well, isn't UC Berkeley professor David Kirp lucky — he gets to stay in Finland.

By all means, stay there. Just throw up your hands and retreat to your safe European country, leaving us in California here to suffer the dual catastrophes of COVID-19 and climate change-driven wildfires.

Don't try to call your representatives, or organize voters, or be a volunteer to help those in need after the fires. Don't try to save our environment by lobbying for reduced carbon emissions, or suggesting public policy that will help your fellow Americans.

You don't need to do all that. You can live in Finland. The rest of us don't have that option, since we may not be married to someone with dual citizenship or even have the money to fly to Europe.

You may be an ex-pat, but you are demonstrating a very popular American sentiment: Every man for himself.

Bess Fanning, Los Angeles

..

To the editor: A few months ago, at the beginning of the coronavirus' grip on America, my wife and I relocated to Los Angeles. Our move marks my return stateside after five years abroad, and the start of my wife's life as a proud immigrant.

At times, I have questioned our move. I feel dazed by protests for a more equitable society, national disregard for science, and what feels like the apocalypse of California's wilderness.

My wife laughs and reminds me it is during these moments when the greatest growth can occur. For the first time in her life, she personally witnesses citizens embracing struggle to ensure their fellow Americans will not have to.

So thank you, California and Los Angeles, for welcoming us to the Golden State. More importantly, thank you for demonstrating that Americans are still willing to promote the general welfare by advancing social and environmental justice.

Allen Schaidle, Sherman Oaks

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.