Antisocial

Re "Putting the hurt on pet abusers," Feb. 8 I am grateful to The Times for alerting readers to the real and horrific link between those individuals who abuse animals and other forms of community violence. This cycle of violence is often accepted by society as "boys will be boys," but as sociologists and others are coming to understand, those who abuse vulnerable animals are just warming up, and animal abuse is a profound indicator of future antisocial behavior. I am glad that this is now being taken seriously by the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles City Council.

"You know you can't count on Social Security. " For years, that's been the scare-tactic pitch of unscrupulous investment brokers, annuities hawkers and their friends in Congress as they tried to peddle retirement deals to people reluctant to part with their money. The phrase has been repeated so often that it's become an article of faith for many who are still years away from collecting their checks. But it's not true, and for more than a decade a powerful rebuttal has appeared in the mailboxes of some 150 million Americans once a year, in the form of a statement saying how much their monthly check would be when they retire.

The sky cleared and the clouds parted when I read Coleman's column. I suddenly realized that Guest Bites Town is a public forum for paranoiac, antisocial, psychopathic sociopaths. But, hey, that's OK; we're all a little crazy. I just didn't know you could get paid for it. The Times is just too cool. CORINNE LOVAROV San Pedro

It's long been assumed — correctly — that a Marine who experiences the psychological trauma of combat in Iraq or Afghanistan has an increased chance of getting into trouble when he comes home. But two researchers at the Naval Health Research Center in San Diego have found another deployment experience that can be an even greater precursor of bad behavior later: boredom. A survey of 1,543 Marines at Camp Pendleton, Twentynine Palms, Calif., and the Marine base in Okinawa, Japan, found that the Marine most likely to disobey orders, get into physical confrontations, neglect his family or run afoul of the police is one who reports that his war zone deployment was marked by boredom.

The Tobacco Institute's Jack Kelly says: "Nobody's got a right to deny me the right to my own form of pleasure." His insolent attitude toward others' rights could, if he prevailed, be applied to drug users, AIDS propagandists or other antisocial or harmful-substance users. James B. Gebhard El Segundo

GARBAGE. I have never even seen the guy and, after reading your sucker-punch of an article, still have no idea what his routine is like. Why didn't you quote a few more of his jokes? Who says comedians have to be antisocial? He's not allowed to break the mold? Is it, perhaps, you who aren't happy, or cute? BEN WESTHOFF St. Louis

After many years' contact with abnormally aggressive, violent, narcissistic students, I cringed at the solution for their amoral, antisocial, self-destructive behavior offered by John Fernandez and Tara Yosso (" '187' Demonizes Latino, African American Students," Counterpunch, Aug. 18). The remedy these writers create in this regard would be humorous parody, were it not so ironically pathetic. The minority-group students whom teachers commonly call their dangerous, unapproachable ones will be deterred from acting out their antisocial impulses, these writers advise, if given opportunities "to deconstruct films and other popular culture media forms that polarize, alienate and scapegoat" them.

Kathleen DOHENY failed to mention the best cure in "Researchers Tackle Motion Sickness on Land, Sea and Air," Healthy Traveler, July 11. Some years ago, a medical journal reported a study showing that listening to music under headphones was better for curing and preventing motion sickness than any pill. Tired of the side effects of medications and unable to take the burning breath of a stomach marinating as a result of a ginger capsule, I found that the headphones worked completely and quickly, even at low volume.

The Orange County Human Relations Commission applauds the enthusiasm for a county self-esteem task force expressed by Ronda Miller in her Commentary column (Feb. 21). Certainly all county residents will greatly benefit from a well-organized program designed to bolster self-esteem in people who might otherwise become involved in antisocial behavior. The lack of self-worth is frequently identified as the root cause of violence and bigotry. Recent studies report that individuals who are self-assured and confident of their own inner worth have less tendency toward racism, sexism and religious intolerance.

It's time to repeal the death penalty--not because it's unjust or immoral but because it's unworkable. Under our system of justice, murderers sentenced to die have become the most protected of felons, guaranteed years of review, appeals and delays at public expense. Their plight attracts a multitude of apologists and supporters, including those opposed to capital punishment under any circumstances. If murderers are members of a minority, they can be portrayed as victims of prejudice and their defense often becomes a political obligation.

Re "Putting the hurt on pet abusers," Feb. 8 I am grateful to The Times for alerting readers to the real and horrific link between those individuals who abuse animals and other forms of community violence. This cycle of violence is often accepted by society as "boys will be boys," but as sociologists and others are coming to understand, those who abuse vulnerable animals are just warming up, and animal abuse is a profound indicator of future antisocial behavior. I am glad that this is now being taken seriously by the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles City Council.

GARBAGE. I have never even seen the guy and, after reading your sucker-punch of an article, still have no idea what his routine is like. Why didn't you quote a few more of his jokes? Who says comedians have to be antisocial? He's not allowed to break the mold? Is it, perhaps, you who aren't happy, or cute? BEN WESTHOFF St. Louis

The headline screamed: "Girl Who Killed for Kicks Aged 14." The girl in question, green-eyed, auburn-haired Chelsea O'Mahoney, and her crew went on a "happy slap" rampage along London's South Bank one night 15 months ago. In less than an hour, they beat, kicked and stomped eight random victims. O'Mahoney filmed it with her cellphone to add to the teenage gang's only motive -- thrill. One man died.

Kathleen DOHENY failed to mention the best cure in "Researchers Tackle Motion Sickness on Land, Sea and Air," Healthy Traveler, July 11. Some years ago, a medical journal reported a study showing that listening to music under headphones was better for curing and preventing motion sickness than any pill. Tired of the side effects of medications and unable to take the burning breath of a stomach marinating as a result of a ginger capsule, I found that the headphones worked completely and quickly, even at low volume.

A fuse was lighted under the old tax reform bonfire last week when the Government Accounting Office reported that 60% of U.S. corporations didn't pay a penny in taxes on their income from 1996 to 2000. That wasn't exactly a bolt out of the blue for most Americans. Maybe it was a surprise to some that the corporations didn't commit any crimes, but just engaged in some complicated and counterproductive -- to the Treasury, at least -- sheltering transactions.

Dr. Julie Lumeng started noticing an alarming pattern while treating children with behavioral problems at an inner-city Boston hospital. When the children -- who recently had become angry or anxious, antisocial, withdrawn or depressed -- returned to the clinic for follow-up visits three to six months later, they often had gained dramatic amounts of weight. Lumeng, a pediatrician, began to wonder whether the behavioral problems were triggering the weight gains.

It seems that the legal system has lost sight of the real issues involved in the fight against gang-related violent crimes in East and South-Central Los Angeles. In being concerned about the rights of these so-called minor citizens, the rights of law-abiding citizens have been jeopardized. No longer can citizens dress, travel, speak nor secure their funds or property. Instead they must pay higher auto, health, life and property insurance rates and live in terror. Legally, we have been informed that anyone who willfully chooses to become involved in an unlawful act is guilty as an accomplice.

Your article "A New Bigotry Ripples Across U.S. Campuses" (Part I, May 8) reports on a disturbing trend that is being monitored and addressed by human relations organizations in many communities. The Times is to be commended on running such an article. We believe that shedding light on the resurgence of racism is important to finding the means to combat this persistent disease. But racism does not suddenly appear at the college level. It is still nurtured by parents, school classmates, popular institutions and culture, and even specific socioeconomic conditions.

Men who were mistreated during childhood are more likely to become criminals or exhibit other antisocial behavior if they have a single gene variation that results in low activity of an important brain enzyme, according to a study published today. Researchers studied 442 men who were part of a larger New Zealand study that followed the men from their birth in 1972.

"Y ou wouldn't believe, to look at this Jewish fellow, that he's over a hot tub canning tomatoes," said Shelley Berman, on the phone last week. For a comedian who was part of a watershed era in comedy that featured the likes of Mort Sahl and Nichols and May, vegetables are just a sidelight. But these days, in addition to acting, teaching and performing, Berman, 75, raises tomatoes and jalapenos at his Bell Canyon home.