Right-wing writers such as Jerry Ritter (Letters 12/23) like to claim that Portland burned during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. Nonsense! Mostly a number of dumpsters were set on fire with no buildings suffering serious structural damage. Compare this to Detroit in 1967 or Los Angeles in 1965 and 1992 with over 1,000 buildings burned in each. The great Portland fire of 2021 joins the ranks of other right wing delusions such as the stolen presidential election, government pedophile rings and microscopic tracking devices in COVID vaccines. 

More histrionics arise from Ritter as he blames gubernatorial candidate Tina Kotek for not “addressing the Marxist mayhem ravaging Portland.” Kotek and others passed emergency legislation to protect BLM protestors whose constitutional rights were routinely being disregarded by Portland police and federal agents. Ritter apparently does not believe that civil rights should extend to people of color and their allies. 

Kotek as Kate Brown on steroids? If that means someone who will save the lives of tens of thousands of Oregonians through an aggressive approach to COVID, someone who fights climate collapse, protects our forests and fisheries and someone who promotes equity and safeguards the rights of all Oregonians, then sign me up. 

Chuck Areford

Eugene

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