Offensive and Racist

I really found the comments in this published letter offensive and racist: https://www.independent.com/2021/01/04/the-hood/

I can’t believe the Independent published these comments with the title “The ’Hood.” What connotative lead were you trying to capture with such an insensitive term during this time of mourning for the lives lost on Liberty Street.

Allowing letterwriter Lane Anderson to express that gang activity is directly related to illegal immigration does not help us out here on the Eastside. We are all frustrated right now. But to read his racist comments in the Santa Barbara Independent at this time only fuels the discrimination people of color continue to experience in Santa Barbara.

My daughter is the same age of the two boys murdered, and she comes from a family of immigrants. Can the writer explain why she is not involved with gangs or the gang lifestyle?

Gang violence is a symptom caused by systemic issues related to poor education and poverty. Santa Barbara is a city that thrives on immigrant labor and must face the limited support that truly speaks to that experience.

I wish you would have not run Mr. Anderson’s letter to the editor. I don’t think it serves your readers well.