For people who say “I just can’t understand how rioting moves their cause forward”

A thread.

You need to get outside your perspective and consider the perspective of others.

Though this starts far earlier, the black community in Minneapolis witnessed Jamar Clark get shot and killed by police under sketchy circumstances, and no charges were filed.

They watched Philando Castile get shot and killed by police in what seemed to everyone a clear misuse of power, and no charges were filed.
There was David Smith, Terrance Franklin, Thurman Blevins, and Travis Jordan, all killed by police in the twin cities, all black.

The only case where police were charged and convicted was when black police officer Mohamed Noor killed white Justine Ruszczyk Damond.

The community protested, and those protests were mostly peaceful, particularly in comparison to those of the last few days.

When one protests, nothing changes, and another black man is killed, I can see how parts of the protest community could think, “We’ll show them we’re really serious, that if you kneel on our necks, take our breath away, and gun us down, we will burn it down."

"Maybe then change will actually happen. Maybe then policymakers will enact real change to prevent this in the future because they know we’ll burn it down if they don’t.”

Change hasn’t happened with peaceful protests. A black man was murdered on camera and the government has the audacity to ask for patience; if a black man had been kneeling on a white man’s neck and police rolled up, that black man would be in jail or dead already.

I for one can at least understand why some of the protest community would resort to violence at this point. I don’t condone it, but I understand it.

If you don’t, I urge you to consider another person’s perspective and the manifestation of pain and hopelessness that is playing out in these times.