To the editor: President Trump’s government order sending the Nationwide Guard and the Marines into L.A. amounted to a not-so-subtle provocation of the scenario, and probably an unconstitutional one as nicely (“Downtown L.A. hit by widespread vandalism, injury as metropolis struggles to calm unrest,” June 9). In the event you watched virtually any supply of visible information media protection of the protests in opposition to Immigration and Customs Enforcement occurring in Los Angeles, you might need been satisfied that town was in violent turmoil. It was not. What viewers noticed had been solely essentially the most dramatic examples of occasions that transpired over the previous couple of days, endlessly repeated photographs of a handful of the identical burning autos, flash-bang explosions and different such photographs chosen, I’m positive, purely for his or her visible impact.
To place this in perspective, L.A. County’s inhabitants has greater than 9 million residents. That’s better than that of 40 particular person U.S. states and includes 88 included cities and plenty of unincorporated areas inside a complete space of 4,084 sq. miles. By that measure, what transpired was small, concentrated primarily inside a couple of blocks surrounding town of Los Angeles’ civic middle and a principally peaceable mass gathering by protesters, lots of whom had been admittedly very indignant on the deliberately provocative techniques of the often-masked and brutal ICE operatives. Ultimately, it was all competently dealt with by the Los Angeles Police Division and sheriff’s deputies.
John Trask, Thousand Oaks
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To the editor: It’s clearly not potential for these of us dwelling midway throughout the nation to totally perceive what individuals in Los Angeles are experiencing. However relaxation assured, we share your fears due to what all of this implies for our nation. Donald Trump received the 2024 well-liked vote by the slimmest of margins, but claimed a mandate from the American individuals. And he has used that mandate assertion to make our nation, and the entire world, a extra harmful place. His slender election victory didn’t, in reality, entitle him to terrorize and deport (with out due course of) individuals who have a proper to be right here, to interrupt all latest precedent by deploying the Nationwide Guard with out the consent of the governor or, most frighteningly, to truly ship the U.S. Marines to quell a civil disturbance he has triggered and doubtless hoped for. Like with so lots of his actions, Trump is making an attempt to fireside up his base whereas dividing our nation. California has grow to be his scapegoat for all issues MAGA.
Trump’s imaginative and prescient of America runs opposite to all the pieces our nation stands for. Until we do one thing, like Los Angeles’ peaceable protesting, his imaginative and prescient is what our nation will grow to be. Please know, L.A., we stand with you.
Stephen F. Gladstone, Cleveland
