Letters

FOSTER KIDS

DEAR EDITOR:

Re: “Things Fall Apart” [May 26–June 1], I applaud Celeste Fremon for saying all the right things and telling it the way it really is in L.A. or any other place. My second husband was a foster child, and he had one horror story after another, and this took place in the sleepy little towns of Connecticut. I myself was a victim of my father’s sexual perversion, and of my mother’s undiagnosed extreme mental illness and unbelievable abuse. No, I was never taken away, but if I had been, what would I have been taken to? Only another horror story. This country simply does not care about the needs of children who are not born to the rich, the loving, the kind, the good — and let’s be real, how many people like that are there in this world? The one thing I truly believe, without rehashing all the wonderful points the author makes, is that bringing back orphanages — good, well-provided-for orphanages — would be better than the indifferent, abusive homes children come from and the indifferent, only-in-it-for-the-money (or worse) foster homes they so often go to. Thank you for running this article.

—Isabelle Ghaneh
Ridgefield, Connecticut

DEAR EDITOR:

Thank you for Celeste Fremon’s article on Sophie’s boys. We all need to address the plight of these children under the government’s wing. I adopted a child from that system 12 years ago. The damage done by physical and mental abuse, while in the system, was disturbing. I would, however, like to encourage anyone considering fostering or adopting. The road is rough for these children. Life has given them a different road map from the one many of our other children take, but the rewards are there. They may struggle in school and on the sports field, but they take us to places we could have never traveled without them. They are a gift waiting to be opened.

—Karen Inouye
Los Angeles

DUBYA

DEAR EDITOR:

Re: Ben Ehrenreich’s “Terrible Waste” [June 2–8], this hilarious, and frightening, article lends credence to a statement made by Patrick McGoohan’s character (Number 6) in The Prisoner: “Don’t vote — it only encourages them.”

—Shawn O’Grady
West Hollywood

KIND OF A DRAG

DEAR EDITOR:

Re: Marc B. Haefele’s “Hang On” [City Limits, June 16–22]. Why would anybody share a race spot with someone who’s going to plaster the location all over the pages of a newspaper? I sympathize with the theme of the piece, believe me, but the location where my son and his friends go to run their Camaros and Mustang 5.0s and Turbo ’Vairs and blown Civics will have to remain secret. There’s not going to be another legal dragstrip in L.A. County. It’s a guerrilla activity, and I think mostly that’s how the participants want it, like raving. Letting them have it their way is part of growing up gracefully, and yeah, you never stop growing up, if you’re lucky.

—Peter Jones
Signal Hill