To the Editor:
Thank you for “This Is What Autocracy Looks Like,” by Michelle Goldberg (column, June 11).
Ms. Goldberg, I am not cowed, and I will be on the streets of Los Angeles in the peaceful “No Kings” protests on Saturday.
I urge every Angeleno to join us — without violence, but with passionate free speech — to make these protests loud enough to send a clear, unequivocal message to the desperate wannabe despot in the White House:
“We have the right to free speech, and you will never take it from us. We are the people, and the government is ours, not yours.”
Michael Hynes
Los Angeles
To the Editor:
This is what failed leadership looks like. Gov. Gavin Newsom of California should have been sending the message President Trump was forced to send: that attacks on federal agents, violence and destruction of property will not be tolerated. Instead, Governor Newsom chose to engage in a battle with the president.
Andrea Economos
Hartsdale, N.Y.
To the Editor:
Re “Trump Tests Federal Power as 700 Marines Go to L.A.” (front page, June 11):
So let me get this straight: We have a president who did nothing for hours to stop the violent assault on our Capitol and its police officers on Jan. 6, 2021. And he made it a priority on his first day of office in 2025 to pardon or commute the sentences of more than 1,500 people involved in that vicious and unlawful attack.
But now he’s sending the National Guard and the Marines to Los Angeles to stop mostly peaceful protests against his inhumane policies toward immigrants.
To paraphrase R.E.M., it’s the end of America as we knew it, and nothing about this feels fine.
Chandler Rosenberger
Suwanee, Ga.
To the Editor:
I’m retired from a career in law enforcement, including having worked in Los Angeles (sheriff’s deputy), and I had crowd control and riot training. The notion that the various city, state and special agencies cannot handle the current situation is ludicrous.
Critics should recognize how unlawful this introduction of the military is. This is yet another attempt to foment unrest as an excuse to take complete control of the country.
MacKenzie Allen
St.-Clément-Rancoudray, France
To the Editor:
Re “Mexican Flags Have Become Republican Fodder, but Protesters Keep Waving Them” (news article, nytimes.com, June 11):
When I saw Mexican flags being waved at the Los Angeles protests, I, too, cringed and thought it might be too provocative. That thought was quickly obscured by a stronger feeling: Why should anyone be ashamed of their heritage? This is America: a fabric woven of immigrants.
So I went out and bought blue and yellow felt to make myself a Swedish flag to fly at the “No Kings” protests on Saturday, and I made myself a T-shirt that reads “Child of Immigrants.”
My grandfather immigrated to America from Sweden, and luckily he was welcomed into his community, or my entire family would not exist.
Patty A. Gray
Citrus Heights, Calif.
Leave the G.O.P.?
To the Editor:
Re “Opposing the President, With Fear and Resolve” (news article, June 3), about Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska:
When is enough more than enough?
Isn’t it time for Senator Murkowski, and perhaps Senator Susan Collins of Maine, to leave the Republican Party? They don’t even have to become Democrats; they can serve as independent members of the Senate.
I believe that their constituents would respect them for taking decisive action against an abusive president and his inhumane, incompetent administration.
To the Editor:
Re “How the Ravages of Age Are Ravaging the Democratic Party,” by Michelle Cottle (Opinion, nytimes.com, May 25):
If the Democratic Party has an “oldsters problem” in Congress, at least it won’t have one in the next presidential race. After 2024, primary voters in both parties will run away from candidates who might put them on the wrong side of another age controversy.
All the incentives point to generational change. We boomers will have to adjust to candidates who can’t remember the Beatles — and may even be foggy on Nirvana.
Michael Smith
Georgetown, Ky.
