“Those white people”

Carmel Pine Cone, Feb. 23, 2024

One of the members of the Pacific Grove Diversity Equity Inclusion task force (appointed by our mayor) was recently quoted as saying “white people are screwed up.” I’d like to take this opportunity to express my own experience of these screwed-up “white” people in Pacific Grove.

When a “white,” man in our community, learned that two homeless men died of exposure, he purchased dozens of Mylar space blankets and handed them out to the homeless. In December of 2023, the “white” man donated dozens of these blankets to local police departments.

A local clinical psychologist, a “white” woman, provides clinical counseling, at no cost, to anyone, who can’t afford therapy. On Saturdays, a “white” man stands in front of a local market and collects donations from “white” people for a weekly free breakfast for anyone in need.

On a rainy winter day in 2023, a non-white homeless man lingered on the streets in front of a local thrift shop. A “white” woman took him into the shop where “white” volunteers gave him clean dry clothes, food, money, and fed his dog.

Several “white” couples open their churches to homeless men and women to provide them with temporary housing and meals. There are many more examples of these “screwed up” white people in our community, however, space is limited.

Giovanna Vesperi, Pacific Grove