Don’t write about rail’s violent history

I question the judgment of The Bee editors in publishing the article on the Mussel Slough shootings (July 19).

In a time when anti-government conspiracy theorists, armed to the teeth, look for any excuse to flaunt their weapons and provoke the state, this paper might just as well throw gasoline on a fire.

I wonder how John Walker and his editor will feel if some innocent CalTrans (definitely not the Southern Pacific) employee, public safety worker, or bystander is gunned down, allegedly to protect someone’s imaginary “rights?” The people of California, not 19th century robber barons, elected to build the high-speed train. Case closed, unless this decision is reversed by the people.

The Bee would do better to positively support harmonious progress, than fuel malcontented delusion with incendiary romantic history. Armed resistance to duly constituted authority is outlawry, plain and simple. To implicitly encourage such action is, to my mind, is participation in such acts. I did not fight for my country in our Army to see such cavalier indifference to potential insurrection.

This story was originally published July 30, 2015 at 9:04 AM with the headline "Don’t write about rail’s violent history."