To borrow from 1960s’ chant: Make peace, not war

Following Spokane’s peaceful Black Lives Matter protest, the Nike store was looted by some young individuals. It’s believed by many marchers that it was a set-up to reflect poorly on them. Next day, Coeur d’Alene had armed militants patrolling their downtown. Two days later, Dan McDonald pulled Sandpoint into the drama by posting message calling for a “replay of CdA” to “help counter” any “looting, property damage, violent acts.” This was blatant attempt to harness fear and claim the spotlight for expanding his influence.

McDonald had no legal authority to call for militia action. These militants are neither vetted for their physical or mental health, nor properly trained in de-escalation techniques for community policing, nor have body cameras for being held accountable for actions taken. In the truest sense, they’re vigilante.

World War II was a fight against fascism and white supremacy. “Antifa” stands for anti-fascist, but the far-right has commandeered the term to mean protestors that oppose them. Even when my husband and I spoke against the exorbitant amount of tax money being spent on the gun lawsuit at a commissioners meeting, we were called “violent,” “senior-citizen antifa” by Dan McDonald after his buddy Steve Wasylko pressed bogus assault charge against Don. Distorting the truth went as far as two county employees filing false witness statements. What could’ve been a tight case was dismissed because of video proof a criminal act did not occur.

We are seeing another deceptive maneuver to highjack an important moment of time where citizens are demanding an end to racial profiling. It is the unmerciful murder of George Floyd by a racist police squad, supported by bigoted people making excuses, that needs to be our intense focus.

Borrowing from our 1960s chant, “Don’t make war, make peace.”

REBECCA HOLLAND

Sandpoint