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A thread on rioting / protests. This is from a friend of mine. Not my words, but I agree wholeheartedly. If you do, RT.
#BlackLivesMatter
#protests #minneapolisriots #GeorgeFloyd #riots
#BlackLivesMatter
#protests #minneapolisriots #GeorgeFloyd #riots
1/ As Minneapolis burns I can’t help but feel sadness. Sad that the Rodney King LA riots were 28 years ago. Sad that Ferguson was nearly six years ago. Sad that things just don’t seem to change for the better.
2/ I’m not sad about looting or rioting and I won’t mourn the destruction of property. Too many people see these riots and it reinforces their fear, reinforces their ugly beliefs about minorities and the necessity for authoritarian police force.
3/ If this is you, you are part of the problem. If the sight of a Target being cleaned out evokes more of an emotional response than a man begging for a knee to be let off his neck, you are part of the problem.
4/ Said reinforcement stems from the myth of peaceful protest. That the effectiveness of peaceful protest throughout history is greatly exaggerated and a convenient narrative propagated by those in power.
5/ The idea that it is the non-disruptive who will be listened and catered to because of the benevolence of the powerful. And this idea is not only widely held but has reached nearly unassailable status.
6/ S we have a few examples (mostly ones that have been white washed and/or stripped of their larger context) that are constantly fed to us and taught to us. Gandhi, MLK, as if either of these men operated in a vacuum and that their goals were achieved solely via nonviolence.
7/ This would ignore the many riots that had occurred in British-occupied India and across the Southern US in the 60’s. You’ll see a bunch of people bemoaning vandalized storefronts and emptied shelves saying “Darkness can’t stop darkness” or whatever...
8/ but those people never quote Dr. King when he said that “Riot is the language of the unheard”. Too many write these actions off as senseless. Too many believe they are being asked to agree with the act of looting and rioting. They are missing the point.
9/ A rioter isn’t asking you to condone their actions, they’re trying to get your attention. They’re trying to get you to listen. They’re trying to get you to understand that there is a broken contract in this country. That the trust between black people and police is gone.
10/ That the same people who are there to serve and protect, are treating them in ways that they do not treat other races. People damning rioters are quick to forget or overlook that it is often police violence and police overreach that got us here in the first place.
11/ The collective standards of a civil society are not being upheld for all people and so the aggrieved temporarily give up their side of the bargain. It isn’t as if black people haven’t tried non-violent approaches, athletes kneeling during the anthem, most recently.
12/ The vitriol and criticism was accompanied with a predictable lack of change. When there are egregious injustices dealt, riots will follow. More people should try to understand why they keep happening, take some time to reflect rather than falling back on convenient beliefs.
13/ To the people who have been fighting for change and those speaking out against this I want to applaud your energy and encourage you to keep it up.
#Blacklivesmatter #protests #minneapolisriots #GeorgeFloyd #riots
#Blacklivesmatter
#protests #minneapolisriots #GeorgeFloyd #riots
