I haven’t been involved with this discussion, but I can answer yes to one of your questions. Gina, you should stay and offer your thoughts and insights. If what you suspect is true, they would be a valuable addition to the discussion and the people taking part in it.
Keeping in mind the original question (which was not actually intended to start a discussion, just vent some anti-American zingers) I’ll offer a couple of thoughts. About a week ago there was a protest organized in our area. We didn’t go, primarily because of the covid situation. We are still isolating, haven’t even been out to a restaurant yet.
The protest started peacefully in the afternoon, but got ugly in the evening. The majority of the protesters were white by the way. According to the news people on site the crowd “self-escalated”. By the end they had vandalized a police station and city hall. They had set fire to cars and vandalized a number of businesses and vehicles (graffiti, broken windows, etc). There had not been any police action to trigger it, but the police did use tear gas once the crowd became aggressive.
From what I saw on the news, the police were remarkably restrained. They had people screaming obscenities in their faces, throwing water bottles and rocks. They just stood behind a barricade. We have not had a “George Floyd” type incident here. Why scream at the police here? They haven't done anything wrong. Why vandalize cars and businesses that happened to be nearby? They may well have been owned by people of color, the people you're supposedly protesting in support of. The crowd didn’t care; they just seemed to want to create havoc.
The original protest was appropriate and I fully support it. The following actions, which I’m sure were perpetrated by a small minority, were completely out of line and frankly divert attention from the very real issues that prompted the protest in the first place.
The reason I popped in was to *see* what people thought about the *rioting* but after reading some of the replies... I felt like people were missing the point. I don't know how much insight I can offer except to say...
Let's get this put of the way, I in no way condone the looting or the *rioting*. I get the reaction, I understand the exhaustion and I feel the *pain*, it is the expression I strongly disagree with. It seems utterly *crazy* to burn your own *house* down because the neighbors house burnt down but, again, I get it. And, perhaps, this is their collective grief manifesting itself and they can't think past that.
I have focused on looking past of that and what I am now seeing. People, and I am by no means calling anyone out just using a generic term, think we *want* something, like give me a job and isn't that enough (just a metaphor). Really? Not looking for some handout would just like to be treated equally. Here are some examples...
-I walk into an Apple store and first I am followed. Then I am reminded I am in an Apple store and the items there are expensive and maybe I want to go find a cheaper store. When I finally find what I want I have to first find a Salesperson that doesn't treat me like a thief to even get the items I want. And if I am stuck with the one that thinks I can't ready the price on a tag even a visually impaired person could read I am them treated with disdain because I had the nerve to ask for two iPads, two iPens and an iPhone 11 Pro. (Yep, really happened, so talking from personal experience.)
-Told that *I can't possibly get paid that* and they didn't even back, *Black people don't make that kind of money.* Really?
-When I walk into Pottery Barn I immediately have shadow... a Security Guard or a Salesperson.
-I shown up for an in-person interview and before they can check themselves the say, *Oh, you're black.* Really?
-I had to file a police report and when he came to the door he had his hand on his gun until he saw my white neighbor who I asked to come over because we have had an incident where the guy who owned the house was waiting in HIS driveway for the police and they shot him thinking he was the burglar. Thank goodness he lived and settled with the PD.
These are just a FEW examples I could go on for hours, days but I would hope you get the point. I don't need a *hand out*. Don't do my any special favors. You can shove *Affirmative Action* (going to take heat for that I know). I would just like to be treated equally. That is something I shouldn't have to beg for. H*ll, that is something we should ALL have. It just seems we are not allowed to ask for *nicely*, it's frowned upon and even criminalized. America has an ugly history deeply;y rooted in racism not just with African-Americans\Blacks. It keeps getting shoved under the rug. Well, the *rug* can't hold any more, it is rotting. I believe George Floyd was the last thread and the people are now saying *enough*.
I am blessed, I grew up in a Jewish neighborhood and went to private school (my Mom worked two shifts to pay for that). I went to college when I was just shy of 17 (my bother was 16). I have worked since I was 18 and lived on my own since I was 22. I develop databases for Fortune 500 companies. I own a home. I pay my taxes. So, why do I get treated like I am less than? I am exhausted navigating *America* as a black woman.
It's not a *riot*, it's a scream for equality. And while I will grant that some are out there for less than honorable reasons, I would hope that there are those who will look past those few and hear the cry for equality.
