Horror after tragedy

After seeing the “protest” looting after the horrible death of an African American man by a police officer holding the man’s neck down with his knee, I am so sorry to see the out-and-out thievery going on while the mobs of people were out of control on the streets. We saw this behavior years ago in the Los Angeles riots and the Baltimore riots.

The people on the streets seem to have forgotten Dr. Martin Luther King’s protest marches that were peaceful on the protesters’ side and the disgust of watchers toward the cops and police dogs that were used against peaceful demonstrations that led to better integration.

Now it seems to be OK to loot the neighborhood! I can now see why some people don’t want to live near people who do this thievery. In the Baltimore riots the rioters even burned down their own neighborhood stores. I moved there for a year after it happened and saw the burned-out areas when I drove downtown from my place near the county line. This behavior will only persuade more people to desert those neighborhoods to open stores and live elsewhere. Remember the words ‘white flight’? This will change to everyone, regardless of race or religion, moving to better communities and opening their businesses there.

Nancy Parker

Walla Walla