Posted by Vlad K., a resident of the Old Mountain View neighborhood, on Dec 22, 2008 at 10:12 pm

Is this program also available to people of European ancestry? I arrived last year and got discouraged when l saw a 1/4 mile long line of South Americans. I believed my daughter and I would be turned away cause we weren't Latin. I couldn't find another adult to ask who spoke English and was afraid of going up front to ask for fear other parents would think I was trying to cut in line. There were many grumpy parents who spoke in angry tones, though I couldn't tell you what they were saying since I don't speak Spanish.

Posted by GSB, a resident of the Cuesta Park neighborhood, on Dec 23, 2008 at 8:48 am

I see ignorance doesn't take a holiday

Posted by Marcus, a resident of the Monta Loma neighborhood, on Dec 24, 2008 at 10:41 pm

I didn't attend this year because my kids and I saw too many parents behaving badly last year. There were people cutting in line, near fist fights and lots of profanity. And like GSB said, there were definitely a lot of ignorant people there also. Many people ignorant of our culture, customs, language and manners!

Posted by Too Big, a resident of the Shoreline West neighborhood, on Dec 31, 2008 at 8:37 am

I think the program has become to big. I thought it was a much better program when the officers took toys to families they knew needed it. It showed more of a personal relationship with officers. Yes, the economy is down and more families are in need but this super line out in front of the police department for a free toy just really doesn't feel right. The gift of giving is going out to give. Not having someone come to you to receive. As it is set up now it feels dirty and greedy.