To the Journal editor:

In reading Richard Lehto’s Letter to the Editor of Aug. 12,, his belief is that the protesting in our country is led by people “who hate this country and hate the president of this great nation even more.”

He provides no facts to support his case, only his beliefs. He is certainly entitled to his beliefs, but did ever occur to him that his beliefs could be wrong. My belief is that the protests are fueled by the brutal murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police office, Derek Chauvin.

My belief is based on the fact the African Americans, as a race, have been mistreated since 1619, when the first slaves arrived in Jamestown. Our first president owned over 100 slaves.

It’s irrefutable how African Americans, as a whole have been mistreated in this country. All we have to look at is “Jim Crow” laws and statutes that legalized racial segregation in this country.

These laws dictated how African Americans were to be looked upon and treated in this country, i.e. segregated schools, restaurants, drinking fountains, busing and the list goes on. Not to mention the discrimination of blacks in securing employment and their treatment in the workplace.

Also deplorable is how blacks were treated in our military. During World War II, most blacks were placed in segregated units. My point is that African Americans as a whole have been abused in this nation.

Abuse leads to anger and their anger reached a tipping point with the murder of George Floyd.

Mr. Lehto also referred to the “show of force by the federal government (ordered by Donald Trump) against the protesters.

This show of federal force reminded me of Tiananmen Square in China in 1989. This show of force by the Chinese government was deplorable, especially with the use of military weapons and tanks.

Donald Trump is not beyond using the same tactics against our citizen protesters. Is this the America we want to live in? Have we forgotten how the German people fared when they tried to resist Hitler?

If Donald Trump is successful in taking away our right to protest, do I need to say more?

Apparently, Mr. Lehto has never experienced the sting of racism or abuse.