Letter: The need for thicker skin (and campgrounds) – Chico Enterprise-Record

Two things. First, let’s not make the mistake to cancel one’s newspaper subscription because of political cartoons. We have to separate the utility of the daily paper from its editorial content. Now, I don’t always agree with the editorial content of this paper, but I keep my subscription because of the advantages I receive from reading the local news every day.

Our local subscriptions support a vast network of people who are hooked into other networks. Each subscriber is one link in a world wide suit of information chain mail, armor against an increasingly confusing world. Stay linked for strength. When you get upset by a cartoon, just write the letter telling about it — don’t cut off local news. That’s how it works best.

The second thing is our local take on homelessness. We’ve recently enjoyed many letters, each saying in effect, “Hey, City Council. You’re blowin’ it with the homeless.” Yep.

It’s a quality of life issue for everyone. When our unhoused can access safe, managed spaces where they can dodge life’s sticker burrs, we enrich the quality of everyone’s life. If we see a scuffed old person asleep in an alcove on Main Street, the quality of everyone’s life is diminished. Globally, nationally, statewide we see economic conditions similar to what we see in Chico. The affordable places and the jobs that paid for them have sailed temporarily upon the monetary tides. In the meantime, Chico needs clean, well-lighted places for our unhoused people.

— Michael Bertsch, Chico