3. With all the media and Democratic establishment backing, including that of The New York Times, Clinton is still unsure of what to do against one of the most vulnerable opponents ever. Who hasn’t Trump alienated?  No one really thinks Bernie Sanders is perfect, but over 40 years of evidence shows how he has taken care of himself by really working for the benefit of others.  That means he is running with so many Americans at his side. This not only better equips him to meet the onslaughts of an egomaniac like Trump. It has, with all his faults, made him great.  Clinton may be much less destructive to the American people than Trump, but I would rather have the chance to vote for someone I really respect and admire than have to come to terms with someone who I know to be only the lesser of two evils.  — Timshel in New York, responding to an article about Hillary Clinton’s struggles to gain an advantage over Mr. Trump.  This comment received more than 680 reader responses.  4. The zoo is not to blame. The parents are not to blame. This is just one of those things, and I’m glad this kid wasn’t mauled to death. A human life is worth more than an animal’s.  — Charlie Kraebel on The Times’s Facebook page, responding to an article about a gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo that was shot after dragging a boy who fell into its enclosure.  This comment received more than 1,600 likes.  5. Bravo to these women for taking action.  If you see something suspicious, always err on the side of speaking up. The worst-case scenario for you is a few minutes of awkwardness; the worst-case scenario for them is a lifetime of trauma recovery.  — Kate Jackson on The Times’s Facebook page, responding to an article about three women in California who alerted a fellow restaurant patron to her male date’s drugging her drink.  6. People living on the economic edge, which is at least 40 percent of us according to a lead article in April’s Atlantic, cannot plan for or absorb a financial setback of even $400 without taking a loan or pawning their belongings.  It isn’t because they are “weak-willed” or careless with their earnings. It is because their earnings are too small to meet their basic needs. When every penny goes to paying the rent, buying food, paying utilities, and transportation, even the smallest unexpected event — a flat tire, a child chipping a tooth playing — becomes a crisis.  The real “crime” here is that people living in relative privilege are unable to see or have compassion for their neighbors — and we are all neighbors — who live lives of unbearable stress because our country values profit over everything else. Try compassion. It is better for your own health.  — Nora01 in New England, reacting to an article about regulations proposed for the payday loan industry this week.  This comment received more than 280 reader recommendations.  7. My mother would turn in her grave if I ever used Velveeta on my enchiladas.  — Zach1 in Washington State, reacting to an article about the resurgence of traditional Tex-Mex cooking in and around Houston.  8. A public pool in a civil society means access to all. If your religion creates a special demand, build a private pool with the money you save from not having to pay property taxes.  — Janet Rosen on The Times’s Facebook page, responding to an editorial opposing the establishment of separate women-only hours at a public pool in Brooklyn that caters to the neighborhood’s large Orthodox Jewish population.  This comment received more than 1,600 likes.  9. I graduated from Queens College, CUNY, in 1992. It was a fantastic school. I’ve since studied at others — Harvard, Boston University, Boston College — and can say without reservation that the quality of education I got at Queens College surpassed anything I experienced elsewhere.  I returned to Queens College a couple of months ago for the first time since graduation 24 years ago. I was shocked at what I saw.  The place looked like a campus you might expect to see in a third-world country ... Higher taxes, anyone, to pay for better public universities (among other things)?  And yet we have no problem driving huge SUVs, buying our daily cup of coffee at Starbucks, and buying big screen TVs for every room in the house, do we?  Failing to invest in the education of young people will have massive and far-reaching (negative) consequences. You are going to get what you pay for, America.  — EB in Cohasset, Mass., reacting to an article about a funding crisis within the City University of New York system.  This comment received more than 580 reader recommendations.  10. I asked one of my doctors about the likelihood of my tumor becoming metabolically active again, to which they responded with vague language.  I said sternly: give me a number.  It wasn’t great, but I didn’t want great.  — Andrew Polk on The Times’s Facebook page, responding to an article on the Well blog about oncologists who are uncertain how much information patients want about their prognoses.
Our top 10 comments of the week: Readers discuss a gorilla’s death, Donald J. Trump’s criticism of a federal judge, a thwarted date rape, and more.