Rioters in Minnesota this month looted and burned a Dollar Tree Store.

This is probably the first time in history that rioters looted a Dollar Tree Store.

These stores are known for having the majority of their merchandise cost one dollar. It must be that these rioters are not too bright. Last year, rioters looted luxury stores in Chicago. Instead of grabbing an armful of merchandise that cost probably $18, the Chicago looters got things worth hundreds or thousands of dollars.

If the looters in either case get caught, I think I would rather go to jail for a mink coat, a diamond ring or a big-screen TV than some off-brand salad dressing or inexpensive reading glasses.

But then, rioting doesn’t always draw the brightest in our midst.

We had a lot of rioting in 2020 and it looks like it is with us again in 2021. It is usually triggered when a white police officer shoots a person of color.

Then the media makes it look like there is a pandemic of white police tracking down blacks and executing them. That just isn’t true.

It is true that sometimes the police are wrong and they hurt or kill an innocent citizen. Sometimes it is by accident and sometimes it is a criminal action by law enforcement. Police can commit crimes, too.

But there are not many cases of racial murders by police – not nearly as many as you would think if you watched CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, MSNBC or read the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today or the Tulsa World.

There are so few incidents that when one happens, it gets the spotlight. And facts fly out the window as the liberal media tries to quickly shape the narrative to look like America truly is dominated by racism and by police brutality.

I have been mildly mistreated by police in an handful of stops – all when I was much younger – but very seldomly and very lightly. I have friends who are police officers and they are wonderful people who want to help everyone and maintain law and order.

I don’t know what it is like to be a black man stopped by a white officer and the level of tension that can produce. I’m sure it raises anxiety.

When I am stopped, I comply with what the officer tells me to do and I go on my way without incident. That is what I have instructed my kids to do, too.

Why do these rioters attack minority businesses? How does that make any sense? They start a riot because of “racial injustice” and then they torch black-owned businesses. That is illogical.

We had the potential for rioting in Tulsa in 2020. Thank God it never really materialized. That is due mostly to the Tulsa Police Department, the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office and state law enforcement.

We could have had a real mess when former President Trump brought his campaign to Tulsa but there were only minor problems. Tulsa police sent out signals to local agitators and troublemakers from out of state that rioting would not be tolerated in our fair city.

So, Tulsa has a potential for trouble May 31-June 1 at the 100-year anniversary of the 1921 Race Riot (now called Race Massacre). A lot of race baiters around the country could be looking forward to using this anniversary to prove that Tulsa was extremely racist 100 years ago (it was) and that racism is still rampant in Tulsa and Oklahoma (it isn’t). And some out-of-state whites who are genuinely racist may show up to peddle their particular brand of segregation.

I hope neither happens.

This was a sad day in Tulsa’s history. I learned about it when I was growing up in Tulsa Public Schools. One thing I remember is that my teachers swore that something like this would never happen again in Tulsa.

I do know this – if rioting breaks out in Tulsa, innocent people will get hurt and property will be damaged or destroyed.

Nothing good will come of it.

Some will make an argument for reparations for the descendants of black people who were killed. It doesn’t seem fair to me that people whose families didn’t even live in Tulsa back then should have to pay for the crimes of people they were not related to.  The Bible teaches that each person should be accountable for his or her own actions.

I wish people would learn to get along better. Looting stores and burning businesses doesn’t help anyone.

Tulsa was a segregated city when I grew up in the 1960s and 1970s. Racism was clearly a problem.

Now, things are better. They are not perfect but it never will be in this life.

The best solution is to reconcile with God through Jesus Christ. He is the ultimate Peacemaker and that is the only way to peace.