The recent spectacle of watching our cities pillaged, looted and burned by rioters, both black and white, was frustratingly sad. Even worse was observing city and state leaders waffle, waver and wait while they and the media referred to the mobs running freely on their city streets as protesters and “kids.” They were neither. They were lawbreakers destroying personal property, creating suffering for their fellow citizens and showing total disregard for law and authority.
These rioters should be treated as what they are: criminals. When the burning and looting began it should have been a clue that a call for action was indicated.
Should not elected officials suspect a crisis demands leadership in order to survive it? Sadly, this exercise in civil disobedience does not honor the memory of George Floyd; it dishonors it. The young, black mayor of Atlanta was one of the few who showed an obligation to stand firm and told the rioters the harm they were doing to the cause of black justice.
On a positive note, once the mobs reached the Beverly Hills area in Los Angeles, the Hollywood goofies temporarily stopped spouting their usual nonsense. That was nice.
Wish there was a way to determine how many Trump supporters were out in the streets burning police cars and throwing bricks and bottles. It must be very tiring to riot all night and get up and go to work the next day. I jest.
Marge Flados, Harlingen
