Destruction in Koreatown

One of the many disturbing parts of our riot was the direct and deliberate attack on the Korean community. This was rooted in the resentment of Korean shop owners and the earlier sentence by Judge Joyce Karlin in the Latasha Harlins case, and fueled by rappers and others who have profited by promoting this hatred.

In many ways, this part of the riot is much like the Crystal Night burning and looting in Germany--members of the dominant group attacking the Jewish shopkeepers driven by hateful rhetoric. I hope we will learn and avoid the destructive path followed by Nazi Germany.

KEITH PRICE, Los Angeles