The horrific death of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of police should not have happened. People have the absolute right to protest and express their feelings toward the city, state and federal authorities regarding Floyd’s death.

Peaceful protest does not mean anarchy, vandalism and looting. Citizens are destroying their own cities and impacting the economy and welfare of all individuals. The chaos needs to stop!

Outside groups that are entering large cities around the country with the intent of causing destruction and possible death under the guise of protesting for Floyd would be better served if they directed their anger and passions in other more constructive and impactful ways.

Justice needs to be done absolutely, but because it is not as swift as people desire does not mean it will not happen. Calm needs to be the way forward if justice for Floyd is going to happen.

David Biacan

Wahiawa

Packed demonstrations risk exposure to virus

Any fair-minded person empathizes with the protesters who saw one of their brothers abused and killed by police for insufficient reason in Minneapolis. But I wonder if the protesters realize that by ignoring social distancing and other safeguards, and gathering in most major cities in the country, including at the Hawaii State Capitol, that they are exposing themselves to a deadly virus, which may be what the racists want.

Smoky Guerrero

Mililani

Call them riots, looting, violence — not protests

Why don’t you do CNN and other media outlets a favor and write an editorial about the media being able to call a riot a riot (“Fiery Atlanta rally among widespread U.S. protests of George Floyd death,” Star-Advertiser, Top News, May 29)? You’ll be doing a valuable public service by helping to educate the public that a protest can be had in our nation, but rioting, looting and violence are not “protests,” nor should society, let alone the media, tolerate or encourage such.

Just imagine if your building or any other media outlet’s building was being attacked as pictured in the article about CNN headquarters. Yet in the reporting, you tolerated attacks on Target and Wendy’s and lawful citizens’ businesses by calling them protests.

Gary Wentz

Kailua

Is America better or worse than 3 years ago?

Is our country and the world better off now than 3-1/2 years ago? I think deep down we all know the answer.

Joseph Leonardo

Diamond Head

Public services often are taken for granted

Most of us rely heavily on essential things like clean water, functioning roadways, safe parks, beaches and other public spaces, but we rarely think about what it takes to provide our community with the services many of us have come to expect. The work that goes into making a city habitable is endless, and the workers who do those jobs are often the unsung and under-appreciated heroes of our community.

COVID-19 has strained many of us, but we can’t let it break us. It’s easy to take public services for granted, but our lives would be very different without them and the workers who provide them. We need to support our local heroes and urge Congress to pass the Heroes Act for state and local aid so we can continue serving our community and work our way toward a new normal.

Pamela Mitsumura

Aina Haina

State must divulge clear timeline for reopening

I saw a news report showing bar owners protesting not being allowed to open their businesses, and describing the economic hardship this is causing.

I sympathize with the concerns of businesses struggling to survive. The state has not come up with a clear strategy, rationale and timeline for opening up the economy.

Businesses often have been given vague dates as to when they might be allowed to open up, and this has caused confusion for businesses and the public. The survival of businesses depends on clearer timelines.

Even if the incidence of new COVID-19 cases drops to zero over a month’s period, the state will face the eventuality of having to reduce restrictions on outside visitors and returning residents. I would like to see a strategic plan, rather than what has seemed to be a meandering process, without clear direction, rationale and timelines.

Minoru Taniguchi

Salt Lake

Hawaii is lucky to have Jones Act to bring goods

The people of Hawaii are lucky to have a loyal Jones Act U.S. Merchant Marine supporting the islands during these times of coronavirus. The ships have arrived as scheduled, with no disruptions of service.

These Jones Act vessels will continue to deliver the goods to the people of Hawaii regardless of decreased cargo volumes. Would you trust a foreign shipping company with an international crew to continue serving Hawaii when cargo volumes and profits fall?

The people of Hawaii do not fully grasp how fragile our supply line is. Costco, Foodland, Safeway, Home Depot — none have warehouses. The ships and shipping containers are their warehouses. The goods go from the container to the showroom floor. If we were to go even one week with no ship arrivals, the shelves would be empty.

Jack Lutey

Haleiwa

Choose better cartoon to promote reconciliation

I condemn the editorial cartoon, “Taking a knee in America” (Star-Advertiser, May 31), as being extremely distasteful. Anyone who watches television or reads the news is certainly familiar with the killing of George Floyd by the Minneapolis police officers. It is a sad state of affairs that at this time in our history, so many people quite legitimately have the need to protest such police misbehavior.

It is unfortunate that at this time, your editorial staff chose not to provide an illustration promoting reconciliation, understanding and empathy. As with so many issues in our country, this is a time to come together.

Jim McClelland

Hawaii Kai

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