Rioting in Los Angeles

A colleague says looters should be shot on sight. I want to ask, “Should those corporate executives who have looted companies, S&Ls; and banks be shot on sight?” My daughter suggests that for many in South-Central Los Angeles life is a daily struggle for survival. If a disastrous quake occurred, we good white folks in the suburbs could be capable of looting supermarkets. Law enforcement personnel, shopkeepers and looters are, in general, no better or worse than the rest of us.

Let’s give us all a break as we work our way out of this mess. The only long-term solution is the enlargement of our concept of human rights to include the right of employment and health care.

DONALD W. BRAY, Professor of Political Science, Cal State Los Angeles