Senseless Violence

Recrimination trailed Pope John Paul II from violence-weary Santiago on Saturday as polarized Chile weighed his unprecedented attempt to unite government foes in a peaceful search for restored democracy. With the Pope peacefully touring the beautiful Chilean south, his church deplored the "senseless violence" that marked a solemn papal "Mass of national reconciliation" here Friday.

A hearty "bravo" to Kristine McKenna for her remarks on public courtesy and its often minimal display in our culture ("Any Which Way but Proper," Opinion, March 31). While one must certainly admit variety of custom from one society or one age to another, common decency and respect for other individuals should still be the norm; i.e., do to others as you would be done to. In a time in which senseless violence such as road rage and other similar manifestations is so prevalent, perhaps attention to such seemingly insignificant actions as flushing public toilets and using automobile turn signals (essentially the same action, requiring the same amount of energy)

The Bush Administration, in a stinging rebuke to Israel's embattled caretaker government, said Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir must share the blame for the massacre of seven Arab workers and the rioting that followed because his rebuff of a U.S.-backed peace initiative contributed to the "potential . . . for senseless violence."

What we need is for [senseless violence] to be a better organized, dynamic feature of the daily news. There should be a concerted, combined effort on the part of both electronic and print media executives to bring us a running account of deaths by gunfire. Not so long ago, when our hostages were held in captivity, TV news programs opened with the number of days hostages had been imprisoned. Newspapers carried a front page box giving the same information. We were not allowed to forget the numerical impact.

Calendar is completely ignoring area bands such as Venice, Rain Children and East-West, which write songs that deal with personal relationships and the world around us while being responsible enough to come out against senseless violence. MIKE FLETCHER Sepulveda

What we need is for [senseless violence] to be a better organized, dynamic feature of the daily news. There should be a concerted, combined effort on the part of both electronic and print media executives to bring us a running account of deaths by gunfire. Not so long ago, when our hostages were held in captivity, TV news programs opened with the number of days hostages had been imprisoned. Newspapers carried a front page box giving the same information. We were not allowed to forget the numerical impact.

As a teacher and moviegoer, I feel that Times staff writer Peter Rainer missed the point of the movie "Little Big League" ("And a Little Child Shall Manage Them," June 29). Managing is really controlling adults, which is a child's ultimate fantasy. By the end of the film, Billy gains the respect of those around him, marking the realization of another fantasy of children and adults. As an educator and an aunt to young children, I could not ask for more--a film devoid of gratuitous sex and senseless violence.

The National Organization for Women Foundation will mourn senseless violence against women at a vigil honoring 19 girls who were murdered and 71 others raped in a brutal attack by their male schoolmates last month at the St. Kizito boarding school in Kenya. Twenty-nine boys, ages 14 through 19, have been charged with manslaughter in the deaths.

A hearty "bravo" to Kristine McKenna for her remarks on public courtesy and its often minimal display in our culture ("Any Which Way but Proper," Opinion, March 31). While one must certainly admit variety of custom from one society or one age to another, common decency and respect for other individuals should still be the norm; i.e., do to others as you would be done to. In a time in which senseless violence such as road rage and other similar manifestations is so prevalent, perhaps attention to such seemingly insignificant actions as flushing public toilets and using automobile turn signals (essentially the same action, requiring the same amount of energy)

Life is sacred, and when any human life is snuffed out as a result of senseless violence, we all suffer as individuals and as a nation founded on the premise of liberty and justice for all. It is all too easy to distance ourselves from the brutal murders of these innocent victims by limiting our concern, by not caring because they weren't "like us." In doing so, we wrongfully believe that such acts of random, degrading violence won't happen to us because we're not "like them."

As a teacher and moviegoer, I feel that Times staff writer Peter Rainer missed the point of the movie "Little Big League" ("And a Little Child Shall Manage Them," June 29). Managing is really controlling adults, which is a child's ultimate fantasy. By the end of the film, Billy gains the respect of those around him, marking the realization of another fantasy of children and adults. As an educator and an aunt to young children, I could not ask for more--a film devoid of gratuitous sex and senseless violence.

"Hello, Mr. Parsons, my name is Michelle. My grandfather told me that if anyone could have any possible answers to my questions, it could be you." That's how her letter began, and the poignancy of her thoughts jumped off the page. "Could you please explain to me why every time there is an article concerning crime and gang activity, the Steve Woods case is always singled out? What was so special about this incident?

At times in 1993, Orange County's local headlines read like the roster for a true-crime television docudrama. A month could not pass, it seemed, without a bizarre, big-city crime story shaking up the suburbs. * Co-workers killed one another. Family disputes turned deadly. And perhaps most frightening were the seemingly random attacks: A 2-year-old Santa Ana boy was slain by a gang member's bullet as his father carried him home from a haircut.

Pop culture has always had a strong impact on behavior; its creators must recognize and assume responsibility for the potency of their own artistry. It is a power capable of anything from dictating styles to influencing public opinion in highly significant ways.

A makeshift shrine--two flickering candles and dark blue flowers--memorialized Christopher Louis Vargas on a small back-yard patio Sunday, not far from where the 14-year-old boy was gunned down Friday night by gang members as his mother watched. As she struggled with grief over her son's death, Linda Vargas spent the day making arrangements to ship her son's body to Indiana for burial later this week, after authorities complete an autopsy.

They are angry. They are hurt. And they wouldn't want anyone to go through the pain they have experienced. "I have been dealt an excruciating blow that I will never really recover from," Margaret Ensley says about her 17-year-old son's death. Three months ago Michael Shean Ensley was standing in a hallway at Reseda High School when a 15-year-old student confronted him and shot him in the chest. The student was later arrested and convicted of murder.

Pop culture has always had a strong impact on behavior; its creators must recognize and assume responsibility for the potency of their own artistry. It is a power capable of anything from dictating styles to influencing public opinion in highly significant ways.

"My mommy is dead. My mommy is dead." Those simple but devastating words kept falling from the lips of 3-year-old Nicole Kerbrat last Friday at the end of the funeral Mass for her mother, Tina, the first Los Angeles Police Department woman officer killed in the line of duty. Following a long tradition, the police officers present for the Mass passed by Tina's coffin in the center aisle of the church.

In the sincere and appropriate effort to seize the moment and begin attacking this city's neglected social and economic problems, Los Angeles should not entertain even a shadow of doubt about the criminality of violence. Such violations of accepted standards of conduct are absolutely wrong and they are absolutely to be condemned. Consider that in the rioting that raged across much of Los Angeles, more than 50 people were left dead and more than 600 buildings were burned out.

Life is sacred, and when any human life is snuffed out as a result of senseless violence, we all suffer as individuals and as a nation founded on the premise of liberty and justice for all. It is all too easy to distance ourselves from the brutal murders of these innocent victims by limiting our concern, by not caring because they weren't "like us." In doing so, we wrongfully believe that such acts of random, degrading violence won't happen to us because we're not "like them."