Blame our ex-president

To the editor:

Were it not for the rhetoric spewed by a certain ex-president, the terrible death of George Floyd would not have taken place.

Had there not been a pervasive atmosphere of toxic hatred encouraged by the ex-president, this could not have happened.

This is not to deny the existence of a Derek Chauvin, but it could not have been given free reign had not violence been sanctioned.

Nor is this to deny the rumblings of discontent, fear of change, and subsequent anger augured by the demographic happenings in the country. The influx of immigrants. The rising power, both economic and political, of Afro-American and Spanish-speaking communities.

Somehow, this ex-president — in all his inherent anger, ignorance and arrogance — ignited people like Derek Chauvin and others, and encouraged the subsequent violence, and a fire that will not be easily extinguished.

Claire Lobel

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