By Marilyn Brennan
In his letter, (SMDP, Aug. 6., page 4) Bellomo upbraided me for blaming the Reagans for the homeless problems, i.e., “Was it really fair to place all the blame on President and Mrs. Reagan?” I guess as fair as Bellomo in Oregon making erroneous “bets” about me in his letter. Everyone is entitled to express their opinion I am not simplistic (or “simple minded” as he put it) in my thinking as to affix the entire homeless problems to the Reagans. If Mr. Bellomo understood that from my letter then let me clarify. I firmly believe that the homeless, mentally ill and substance addicted are a direct result of the closing of the mental health programs and hospitals that took place during Reagan’s administration and began there.
And I am fully aware of the secession to the presidency of the Bushes and President Clinton, none of whom seriously addressed this growing problem. And if Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign would have worked it would have been wonderful. However, the birth rate would also go down if folks just said no, but we know this is unrealistic — and it’s even more unrealistic to ask an alcoholic or drug user to “Just Say No.” To reiterate, the Reagans alone did not cause the problem, nor did I intend to say so.
Mr. Bellomo also would lose every “bet” he made in this letter. Since he made his “bets” based one letter to the editor, I can tell you that reading that letter did not give him any in-depth knowledge of me, my beliefs or my associations.
I am not a member of the ACLU nor would I blindly support any group. I have been a fighter for human rights all my life and I would never advocate any system that forced anyone anywhere.
Had Mr. Bellomo made these simple minded assumptions or “bets” with any accuracy (not likely as he is wrong on all his “bets”) I would suggest to him that he has a career ahead of him as a psychic. As it is, he better stick to his day job up there in Oregon.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 14, 2003. Read the original PDF.