In a recent letter, my friend Eben Henson made the point that the term “Black Lives Matter” was officially registered by three black Marxists in 2013. Fair enough.

But he then conflates today’s Black Lives Matter movement with the wingnut goals and violent methods of the tiny organization the three Marxists founded seven years ago. This conflation would be a surprise to almost everyone in the current growing national movement in our country, a movement that now includes major U.S. companies, businesses, professional sports, Republican and Democratic office-holders at all levels, the National Bar Association, NASCAR, the 400 peaceful and respectful white and black Danvillians and community leaders at the recent Weisiger Square rally, etc.

Eben ends his letter: “If we allow ourselves to be destabilized and divided by a deceitful group of violent radical socialists bent on the teardown of American, then they have already won.”

We can and must all decry the illegal, tragic burning of black businesses in Minneapolis. But we must also not assume that the growing legion of Black Lives Matter advocates are mindless dupes of some tiny lunatic fringe in our country — scary fringe that hangs on the right as well as the left.

If we fear the screwball apocalyptic vision of the three Black Marxists seven years ago or antifa, shouldn’t we also fear the screwball apocalyptic vision of today’s alt-right crazies: the Neo-Nazis, KKK, white-nationalists, Boogaloo, etc.

(Steven Carrillo, a follower of the deep-state Boogaloo — which has used 100 million deceptive social-media posts to call for violence leading to a second American Civil War — is currently under arrest for the drive-by murder of two California law-enforcement officers.)

In these challenging times shouldn’t all of us try harder not to “destabilize and divide” our country by what we say? Or do?

Milton Reigelman

Danville