By this time all Americans must know, but our foreign readers may not, that the “twin cities” Minneapolis and St. Paul are in flames. The fire this time is because rioters are protesting  the brutal killing of a black man, George Floyd, by a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, who has now been arrested and charged with the killing.

The Minneapolis police chief, Medaria Arradondo, says that the first duty of his officers  is to keep themselves safe. “Their safety is paramount,” he says. So he refuses to let them intervene when very many stores, businesses, buildings are attacked, looted, and set on fire by rioters.

And the Mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, is concerned for the safety of the rioters. He told them to be sure to wear masks while they are rioting, looting and committing arson, and he even issued masks to them.

Frey, in a plea for peace Thursday night, noted that his government was giving face masks to rioters in an effort to slow coronavirus spread.

“The City encourages everyone to exercise caution to stay safe while participating in demonstrations, including wearing masks and physical distancing as much as possible to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” a press release read. “The City has made hundreds of masks available to protesters this week.”

It’s probably unnecessary to mention when such idiocy and incompetence are on display that Mayor Jacob Frey is a Democrat.

We wonder if any official, paid to protect the property-owning, service- and goods-providing, tax-paying residents, is concerned for their safety, their property, their livelihoods?