Letters

On Independence Day, Lex Scott, founder of the Utah chapter of Black Lives Matter, declared the American flag a “symbol of hatred,” yet another reflection of the twisted logic of today’s “cancel culture.”

Patrisse Cullors, one of the three founders of the BLM movement, has stated in interviews and on its website that she and another founding member, Alicia Garza, are “trained Marxists” and “trained organizers.” Cullors has also said she’s a trained terrorist, stating that her mentor is Eric Mann, who was a member of the radical left militant groups responsible for bombing government buildings and police stations during the stormy days of the 1960s and 1970s. Those old enough may remember them as the Students for Democratic Society and the Weather Underground. Quite a heterodoxy, indeed, yet our current liberal woke elites just can’t seem to get enough.

“Mostly peaceful” excuses, the millions upon millions of dollars in damages as our cities burn, businesses demolished, citizenry injured and policemen maimed trying to defend the truly peaceful from the insanity of the disgruntled. Portland, Oregon, now has its own dystopian sections of the city that the police will not enter, as do Chicago and other major woke cities as well. Police officers are quitting in droves or retiring early, while inner cities are torched and descend into chaos.

Toppling unwanted statues is now commonplace. Last year, June 2020, in Richmond, Virginia, an 8-foot statue of Columbus was pulled down and dragged into a lake; “Columbus represents genocide” was the slogan of the day. The equestrian statue of Theodore Roosevelt is scheduled to be removed from its long-standing location in front of the Museum of Natural History, its symbolism an affront to the geniuses of modern cultural wokeism.

Communist China erased its unwanted history during its cultural revolution under Chairman Mao — and we called the Taliban barbarians for destroying the cultural artifacts of Afghanistan.

“It’s only property” now excuses wanton destruction in the form of legitimate protest. “In Defense of Looting” became Amazon’s No. 1 bestseller and was hailed by its publisher as a “fresh argument for rioting and looting as our most powerful tools for dismantling white supremacy.”

Ironically, just a few short weeks ago, when George Floyd had his statue defaced, Mayor Bill de Blasio declared it “a racist and loathsome act,” saying it was “a hate crime” and “an investigation is underway.” This very same mayor, during the “peaceful protest” riots of 2020, dropped the charges against hundreds of arrested vandals. No problem there if sanctioned by BLM.

Protest and assembly are granted in our Bill of Rights. Violent extremism is the enemy of all.

There are no winners, there is only loss.

John Porta

Westhampton