Stopping Violence

Al Martinez wrote in his column (“Cries and Whispers,” Nov. 10) that he wants the violence in Los Angeles to stop. That is a sentiment with which every law-abiding citizen can agree.

However, he errs when he draws a parallel to the war in Vietnam with the war in the streets of Los Angeles. He credits the shouts of the 1960s war protesters for stopping the war. In fact what they stopped was U.S. involvement. They didn’t stop the violence. Just ask the people abandoned in South Vietnam and Cambodia. The “make love not war” rhetoric of the ‘60s won’t get it. This time we need to stand and fight!

J.T. PASIENSKI

Huntington Beach