What about some of the Central Americans who wear loin cloths and speak broken Spanish and stab people? We have them here, too. Lest we forget all the Latin gang members. Also the burden on social services and corrections.
Perhaps when they encroach upon the hipsters they'll feel differently. All low-skilled jobs are being taken. Not all of us can go and sit four years in college.
To immigrate into Mexico one must know three languages.
Perhaps we should follow the same rules.
— Scott Palmer [email protected]
Get Back to Life
I read Larry Gross' "Made in Japan" column (issue of July 30) with much interest as I, like him, suffer from depression. To me, the word sounds inaccurate, too light. Maybe everyone gets "depressed" from time to time, but not with the dark clouds roaring in and not to the point where you need therapy to figure things out.
Three years ago, that's where I was. I didn't want to get out of bed, didn't want to leave the house and sitting in the dark was OK. It took family to talk me into going to see a doctor and deal with what I was going through.
I can't help but wonder if Gross and I suffer from the same kind of depression. If we do, then his joy over that new ink pen, annoyance with the iceberg lettuce and rethinking of letting go of an old friend are all signs of life. That he wants back in it.
— Danny Covington, Mount Washington
In Praise of Lettuce
Whenever I pick up CityBeat I always look to see if Larry Gross has a Living Out Loud column, as I enjoy his stories. I particularly liked the one about the kid in the library temporarily left behind by his father ("Kids Having Kids," issue of March 12).
I grew up in Greater Cincinnati, and there's plenty to joke about, criticize and celebrate. I still live here, and I'm fortunate enough to visit other cities. But come on: In the "Made in Japan" column (issue of July 30) Gross says "the iceberg lettuce is expected here in Cincinnati." It's used by lots of restaurants everywhere because it's inexpensive.
If you want something better, go to a better establishment. But in my view it's hardly a Cincinnati thing.
— Robert Hennessey, Mason
Meat and Pollution
Three weeks ago, in a major address in the nation's capital, former Vice President Al Gore called for a 10-year plan to move the nation's entire energy supply to solar, wind and other renewable sources. What he failed to address is the massive role of meat production in the global climate crisis.
An authoritative 2006 report by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization found that animal agriculture accounts for fully 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. That's more than automobiles! It's also a major cause of land and water degradation.
Carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas, is emitted by burning forests to create animal pastures and by combustion of fossil fuels to operate feed growing tractors, factory farm and slaughterhouse machinery, trucks and refrigeration equipment. The much more damaging methane and nitrous oxide are discharged from digestive tracts of cattle and from animal waste cesspools, respectively.
The good news is that each of us can do our part to reduce global warming without waiting 10 years. Our local supermarket stocks a rich variety of soy-based lunch un-meats, hot dogs, veggie burgers, dairy products and ready-to-eat frozen dinners. Did I mention the cornucopia of fruits and vegetables that have always been readily available to us?
— Ted Martindale, Walnut Hills
