Letters: Price recall | Violence abroad | Trump optics | Priority No. 1 | Gender shouldn’t matter

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Harris voters should
vote no on Price recall

As many of us celebrate the rise of Kamala Harris in her campaign for president, we have learned of her background as a tough district attorney, who also had a concern for the dramatically high percentage of people of color being prosecuted and jailed, compared with whites. In this light, should we in Alameda County not recognize a parallel with the life story of our own district attorney, Pamela Price?

Price was raised in foster homes. She put herself through college, and then law school. She, like Kamala Harris, chose to become a district attorney, one who is tough in her prosecution of offenders but also has compassion and vision for prevention and rehabilitation, especially for people of color.

I would suggest that those of us in Alameda County who will vote for Kamala Harris in November also vote against the recall of Pamela Price.

George Fulmore
Emeryville

Harris is OK with
violence abroad

Re: “Agents fire at suspect near Trump” (Page A1, Sept. 16).

In your Sept. 16 article on the attempted attack on Donald Trump, Kamala Harris was quoted saying, “Violence has no place in America.”

Of course not. We’re focused on the violence we support outside of our borders — Israel’s horrific campaign against the millions of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

We supply over 69% of the military equipment used. A minimum of 41,000 Gazans have been killed plus thousands more wounded, lives ruined.

A current poster with a picture of Harris states, “If you’ve been working ‘around the clock’ for 10 months for a cease-fire you’re bad at your job.” Let’s fire her.

Jayne Thomas
Berkeley

Trump optics argue
against voting for him

There is a term often used in corporate America: “optics.”

For instance, a CEO does not want to be seen in the luxury box at an NFL game with a criminal. Surely, Donald Trump understands optics. Yet, he chose to invite Laura Loomer, who has pushed a false narrative that the 9/11 terrorist attack was “an inside job,” to Ground Zero on Sept. 11.

I would like to extend this analogy to all Trump supporters. Consider the optics of supporting a candidate when people who have worked for him (in the previous administration) have said that he has “contempt for the norms of decent, ethical, and lawful behavior.” Despite being explicitly told that rumors of pet-eating in Springfield, Ohio, are untrue and baseless, the Trump team continued to post about it — just because it bolstered their (incoherent) narrative about immigrants.

I would urge these folks, Elon Musk included, to reconsider.

Prakash Narayan
Fremont

Stopping Trump is
priority Number 1

Re: “Have sympathy for the undecided voter” (Page A7, Sept. 18).

Ross Douthat makes dubious assertions about the Biden-Harris administration. History will judge Biden-Harris as left of center and having handled complicated circumstances successfully — economically (strong GDP and employment growth, global inflation navigated without a U.S. recession, and significant investment in infrastructure, advanced technology and renewable energy), geopolitically (strengthened NATO and supported key allies), and, belatedly, immigration progress despite Trump killing GOP support for more border resources.

But the solid record of Biden-Harris — despite some shortcomings that are inevitable in every presidency — is a moot point compared to the racist hatred that Trump espouses and incites — which you’ll see if you watch Trump’s New York speech on Sept. 18. Trump’s hatred and bigotry must be stopped and everything else is secondary.

Vote for Kamala Harris and Democrats across the board. Trump has taken over the Republican Party, and it must be badly beaten before it can re-emerge as a viable party.

Jim Boots
Danville

Harris’ gender shouldn’t
matter in this election

As the presidential candidates travel America campaigning, I’m beginning to hear a disturbing trend. I’ll call it the “Caesar’s Wife” standard that is applied to all women, who learn early they must do more, be more.

One explanation of this Roman proverb is that women must be “above suspicion for anything that men around them are responsible for.” Caesar was a player, everyone knew. But he divorced his wife on the rumor of infidelity because despite what he did, she must be beyond reproach. A current example that I’ve heard is that Donald Trump can have a “concept of a plan,” but Vice President Harris must present specifics.

The “Caesar’s wife” syndrome is such a part of our Western psyche that even those who support Harris are often unaware that they are applying this double standard. Every candidate must be judged on experience, decency and ability, not gender.

Nancy Thornton
Concord