12 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY JANUARY 29-FEBRUARY 4, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com LIFE LOST This article states that the cops administered medical care but they didn’t (“Monterey County District Attorney releases bodycam footage in Marina officer-involved shooting,” posted Jan. 22). It’s clear in the video they had no intentions of providing medical care. Maybe if they release a video that’s not blurred out this article could be true. But at this point, without proper facts, this article as a whole lost its credibility and validity. They didn’t protect and serve during this routine traffic stop. The [police] risked his life by having a bias based on his past, they did not de-escalate the situation, and in the end a life was wrongly taken. RIP Ronald Chyron Tinsley. Alexis Merriweather | San Jose That was the opposite of a de-escalation. It was a simple traffic stop. Diana Lopez | Seaside PEOPLE POWER The criminal regime of the Islamic Republic has brutally killed close to 20,000 protesters in a matter of 48 hours. Yet, the international community has failed to take action against the regime. Despite the UN resolution of “Responsibility to Protect,” no effective action has been taken (aside from rhetoric) to respond to these crimes against humanity (“The overwhelming protests in Iran reflect desperation for change, despite an uncertain future,” Jan. 22-28). People of Iran deserve a democratic, secular government that can replace these monsters currently occupying their country. But first, it is the moral mandate of the global political community to help Iranians overthrow an illegitimate government that has looted and destroyed all the resources of Iran, in order to wage war against Israel for the past 46 years. Iranians are suffering from lack of electricity, water, clear air and from malnutrition. It is time for the Islamic Republic embassies to be closed across the world, and military action be taken against a regime that is killing its own people. The world is watching and history will judge. Shahnaz Otanian | Salinas Thank you, Agata Popęda, for the story on the situation in Iran (“A Marina woman reflects on the uprising in her home country of Iran,” posted Jan. 21). Please keep your contacts back in Poland and in the Baltics fresh. We’re likely to need them as the world’s governing arrangements collapse. Allan Groves | Seaside I write this because of something I witnessed in the terrible days after Oct. 7. Many Jews felt isolated and abandoned by much of the world. And yet, Iranian expatriates across the West showed up anyway. At solidarity gatherings, the pre-revolution Iranian flag appeared again and again. In some places, it felt as though the only non-Jews consistently standing with Jews in the street were Iranians. That solidarity was not only symbolic. Inside Iran itself, many people have courageously refused to participate in the regime’s anti-Israel spectacles—refusing to step on Israeli flags laid out at mosques and universities. Today, many of those same people are paying an unbearable price simply for demanding basic dignity. That moral confusion feels painfully familiar now. Too often, fear of political misinterpretation leads to endless “contextualizing,” while the victims themselves disappear from view. Silence becomes a form of abandonment. I am not asking for a partisan position or advocating military action. I am asking something more basic: whether we, as a community, can offer a clear moral gesture of solidarity—acknowledging the suffering of Iranian civilians. After Oct. 7, many Jews learned what it feels like when the world struggles to find its voice. Many Iranians feel that same abandonment today. I hope we can live in a world where solidarity is remembered—and returned. Magnus Torén | Big Sur RHYME TIME Art is medicine! (“Monterey County’s new poet laureate, Marie Butcher, wants to engage the community,” Jan. 15-21.) Michelle Magdalena Maddox | Pacific Grove The arts are vitally essential, especially during difficult times. Jacquie Atchison | via social media Note: Atchison is executive director of the Arts Council for Monterey County, which oversees the poet laureate program. START THE PRESSES The show was hilarious. Can’t recommend it enough (“Brian Steen-Larsen and Hunter Powers take it to the next level with Gutenberg! The Musical!,” Jan. 22-28). Jesse Juarez III | Salinas My family loved it. Vince Artalejo | Salinas CALL TO ACTION I attended the Carmel Library Foundation presentation on “Journalism, Truth and the Free Press” (“Local papers are at the core of functional journalism,” posted Jan. 26). The dominant theme was that presenting the truth through serious journalism was critically important to the public. Challenges to truth are widespread and destructive. During Q&A, most audience comments wanted more fact checking, more pushback against misinformation, disinformation, distortion and outright lies. At no time was there a single comment about the purpose of truth and the reason to have an informed public. My question: What is the purpose of truth? Is it simply to spread information and expect usefulness by an informed public? Is it to show a record of events, the first draft of history? What is truth expected to produce? What was missing was the purpose of being informed. To me, the objective must be action. Action means engagement beyond normal patterns. It means putting knowledge, emotions and energy into producing outcomes. It means actively supporting values. It means using your voice in public. It means participation. It means taking the time and making the effort. Without a clear sense of acting on what you know and believe in, being informed is limited to table talk. George Riley | Monterey LETTERS • COMMENTSOPINION Submit letters to the editor to letters@montereycountynow.com. Please keep your letter to 150 words or less; subject to editing for space. Please include your full name, contact information and city you live in.
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