Airport insecurity

Dear Editor: Marilyn Jean Hartman made it past security at Mineta San Jose International Airport on Monday night and was arrested after arriving at Los Angeles International Airport. This is like a Seinfeld episode, where Uncle Leo was stealing and claimed, "I'm an old man."

This old white woman did it more than once and maybe she's genuinely seeking attention. Maybe she's lonely and wanted to be famous. I've been through airport security and they'll check your underwear. So how Marilyn Hartman got past security puzzles me. Do old white women blend in so well that it's hard to spot someone who looks out of place while boarding a plane? Is airport security too busy looking for men with turbans and seatbelt explosives connected to their beards?

Come on, airport security, what's going on here? All those Federal Aviation Administration rules slipping through the cracks?

I'm glad that Marylin Hartman could fly for free more than once because it shows that our airport security is not that secure. It also shows that white women won't call this racial profiling. It's just a mistake, after all. We're human, even the airport insecurity.

Michael Uhila,

East Palo Alto



Dear Editor: Robin Williams' death is a symbol to all in this country. A symbol that when it comes to mental health and mental health-related issues, we are losing the battle for better care and outcomes. Every year, many lives are needlessly lost due to suicide stemming from mental health problems like depression. It has finally come to a point where mental health and mental illness is taken out of the closet and discussed on a national level. In this way, there is a realization that there is hope and recovery for everyone. Hopefully, this discussion will happen sooner than later so nobody else will lose their lives and the human value they possessed.

Patrick Field,

Palo Alto