Since the world-wide circulation of video showing the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, 75 American cities have seen major protests against what many see as a culture of white fear and institutional racism.
In addition, a dozen American cities experienced a level of vandalism and looting unseen since 1968. That destruction was committed by individuals often unaffiliated with the protests who used the protests as a cover to wreak destruction. Most protestors were not involved in the violence and were repelled by it.
Rather than sliding deeper into a confrontational siege mentality that will enflame our national disfunction, we need to reform our society, government and police systems to create equity and justice for all. Our culture is broken, and until we fix it, we will experience additional demonstrations and riots. The late Dr. Martin Luther King saw this clearly back in 1968 when he stated”
“In the final analysis, a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it that America has failed to hear?
“It has failed to hear that the plight of the Negro poor has worsened over the last few years. It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met. And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice, equality and humanity. And so, in a real sense our nation’s summers of riots are caused by our nation’s winters of delay. And as long as America postpones justice, we stand in the position of having these recurrences of violence and riots over and over again. Social justice and progress are the absolute guarantors of riot prevention.”
Mr. President, we need to make our society better, not worse.
Timothy Knopf
Everett
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