Crosswalk Safety in Santa Monica

Re: “At Cross-Purposes in Safety Debate” (Times, March 14).

Only in Santa Monica! Only here does human creativity/absurdity rise to such heights that a straightforward issue such as crosswalk safety can be escalated to a pitched political battle complete with a brand-new subspecies of repressed victims (pedestrians) and a sinister class of tyrannical overlords (drivers).

The crowning touch is a standard and wholly artificial polarization such that any resolution now requires that only one side emerge victorious and the other be beaten into embarrassed ignominy. Which pretty much guarantees that a lot of people are going to get hit by cars in the meantime. It’s painfully clear that a goodly number of our politicians have way too much leisure time on their hands.

Just one question, speaking as a member of either class, depending on the time of day: Will it be politically acceptable to drive to the pedestrian feeding program?

LEE GRUENFELD

Santa Monica