If there was any doubt about the irrational anger driving the riots — ahem, excuse us, “mostly peaceful protests” — that have roiled the country after the death of George Floyd, we have two seemingly unrelated stories that illustrate the uninformed and manipulated emotion.

First, last Tuesday, lost amidst the fresh turmoil in Kenosha and the Republican National Convention was a new report on Floyd’s death. According to Hennepin County Medical Examiner Dr. Andrew Baker, Floyd had a “fatal level” of fentanyl in his system when he died. Baker emphasized that he’s “not saying” fentanyl killed Floyd, but he also noted, “If he were found dead at home alone [of] no other apparent causes, this could be acceptable to call an [overdose].”

This does not, in our view, excuse the actions of the cops in that incident. But it does make plain the need for cooler heads to evaluate such situations when the dust settles. Rioting over the death of a man who was no worthy martyr and who may have died on his own at home doesn’t solve anything. That goes for Jacob Blake in Kenosha as well, given that he was possibly reaching for a knife when he was shot. It also goes for Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta, who fought with cops before being shot.

The second incident involved Kentucky Senator Rand Paul. Just after President Donald Trump’s nomination acceptance speech Thursday night, Paul and his wife were accosted by a mob. “They were inciting a riot,” he said, “and they would have killed us had the police not been there.” Paul is no stranger to political violence that seriously injured him or threatened his life on a baseball field. He added, “I don’t hear Joe Biden or Kamala Harris saying one thing about the violence. This mob is their voters.”

What was the mob saying? Thugs were screaming at Paul simply because he’s a Republican, demanding that he “say her name” — meaning Breonna Taylor, a Kentucky woman killed by police earlier this year. These ignorant fools were clearly unaware that Paul sponsored the Justice for Breonna Taylor Act, a bill he intended would “effectively end no-knock raids in the United States.” He’s made tangible efforts for reform, in other words, which is more than the burning, looting, and murdering (BLM) thugs can say.

“Protester,” educate yourself.