San Franciscan's Behaving Badly

This excellent letter to the editor caught my eye this morning and I feel should be read by everyone.

"Editor - It's amazing to me that when something goes wrong in this town, it's always the fault of the government. I'm no fan of Mayor Newsom, and our supervisors don't inspire much respect, either. However, whether it's litter on our streets or the murder rate, it's not the fault of our leaders as much as it is our people. Our reputation for tolerance is sorely abused. Worse, too many of those who come here think they can engage in behavior that wouldn't be acceptable in most civilized settings, and that we should put up with it. Compounding this selfishness is an inability of people here to stand up to bad behavior. I once watched two kids deface a bus, with not one other adult willing to accost them. On the Muni Metro, I saw a man who was about to get off put his cup behind the seat. I politely suggested that he take it with him, and not only did he let loose a stream of vulgarity, but two other folks (not with him) lit into me as well! Decent people who stand by and do nothing in the face of such behavior aren't much better than the offenders. When a society makes excuses for, and defends, bad behavior, it is not a big jump to the point where arguments are ended with bullets and knives.

We only get the government we deserve, and in a selfish, childish society like ours we really can't expect any better than what we have.

PAUL TOMINAC San Francisco"

Personal comment in conclusion: It is this sort of thing that really discourages and depresses me at times and make me feel like this planet is ready for a complete re-do. That is, a huge asteroid should crash into the planet and wipe out the human race as it did the dinosaurs millions of years ago and let the planet start all over again. I cannot see the human doing anything to make it better.