Ignoring the turmoil

Having somehow survived the “three days of protests and rioting here in beautiful Vallejo,” Mr. Joseph Balocca writes a wandering rant that links these protests with opportunistic looters, firearmburglars, anarchists, “by-anymeans-necessary” activists, overburdened police, statuetopplers, the Islamic State (ISIS), generic evil-doers, secular education and working parents. Nothing about the protester’s issues, just: “Some said it was peaceful, some not so much.”

He poses many questions:

• “How can society protect itself ... when the police come under suspicion of wrongdoing?”

• “How can society modify the dangerous behavior of those evil-doers?”

• “What it would be like it we just joined them?”

• “Where can we turn to teach those who need it that it is a good thing to obey the law?”

• “We could just mind ourselves, and forget the rest until?”

He claims no answers, but

“will be vigilant” — presumably with his yet-to-be-pilfered firearms because the police are overburdened restoring order and unable to protect him.

I invite him to recall his earlier reaction to the totally peaceful protests against police brutality made by NFL players taking a knee.

He wrote to Opinion: “Spoiled ... overpaid brats” he called them, threatening to change the channel if it continued.

Mr. Balocca does reflect the national leadership, after all: “Get that sonofabitch off the field,” says President Trump.

Vice-president Pence goes to a game just to stage a walkout as players take a knee.

That is white America lifting a giant middle finger to a few moments of silent, peaceful protest against the many obscene acts of police cruelty.

Now protest has exploded across the planet, and Mr. Balocca wonders how to stuff the turmoil back to where he can safely ignore it.

The protests will not be quenched; not by stay at home moms, not by praying in school, not by crushing all dissent wherever it assembles.

We could have modified

“this dangerous behavior” by listening and acting effectively before it got here.

We can “teach them that it is a good thing to obey the law” by having laws that work as well for communities of color as they do now for communities of Joseph Baloccas.

— Thom McCombs/American

Canyon