When Nothing Else Made You Listen

If you said not to protest “like that” when there were repeated peaceful protests…

If you ignored or denied the reasons why the peaceful protests were happening, ensuring they were not addressed and voices were not heard…

If you are condemning looting louder than you are condemning the murder of George Floyd...

If you are mourning the loss of store windows more than the loss of a life...

If you are not enraged that the murderer, captured on camera, still roams the streets a free man…

… you are part of the problem.

Yes, there are better solutions. And we have failed at them every time.

 “I think America must see that riots do not develop out of thin air. Certain conditions continue to exist in our society which must be condemned as vigorously as we condemn riots. But 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.”
 -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“I’d respectfully point out a few things. 

Looting is what every western museum is built on. Anyone ever protest the museums? Western civilization has colonized, raped, and pillaged the world. All western wealth comes from the blood and coffers of black and brown people. Ready to give all those artifacts back? 

The Boston tea party was a violent riot with looting. But that was done by white folks defending stolen spaces for white folks. So we celebrate it.  

Please know that when one calls for civility, it’s an insidious form of white supremacy that most people don’t even realize. White people riot and set cars on fire when their team wins a championship. But nobody is sending in militarized cops and throwing tear gas at them.  

MLK said, the riot is the language of the unheard. As someone who has never had to live with the daily fear of being black, I can still understand why protestors have done this. How civil would you be if the very system you lived under disenfranchised your community at every level? Was still murdering your family (and you) and getting away with it? How do you prioritize property over people at a time of historic unemployment and income inequality (that disproportionately affects BIPOC)?  

Violence is of course always less than ideal. But also note the reports coming out of MN of cops spraying pepper spray at peaceful bystanders and peaceful protestors and people who aren’t even involved but are trying to walk from one place to another.  

How dare any of us demand civility from a people who have felt the oppression of 400 years continue unabated?

We are raised and steeped in a deeply racist society and are thus all racist. It may be subtle. It may be simply not recognizing privilege. It may be calling for civility from a group who’ve tried civility and had hoses and dogs set on them. Who’ve tried civility (kneeling) and been fired and blackballed. Who’ve tried civility and are tear gassed and have tanks rolling in. 

(Overwhelmingly white) people are throwing tantrums about masks as a violation of civil liberties. They’re showing up armed to the teeth. Screaming and acting ridiculous. They survive every encounter. 

When black people protest peacefully they have dogs and firehoses set on them (lunch counter protests). They’re beaten and have their skulls fractured (Selma). They’re met with cops in riot gear (Ferguson and every protest since then). And THAT is white supremacy. 

Imagine what would happen if cops were killing white people daily but taking black mass murderers and active shooters into custody peacefully.  

You can’t. Because it’s so unfathomable that white people would ever lose privilege. The privilege of murdering people and still surviving.  

Mr. Floyd wrote a check. They decided it must be a forgery. Why? Why was he arrested when they arrived? How did they determine it was? Even if it was. They murdered him with impunity. Because that’s the history of policing (it was invented to catch and punish slaves) and to this day, is used to target, profile, and murder black bodies whilst letting white people do whatever they want and they can still survive the encounter.  

So yeah, if they’re angry and looting, so be it. They’re not beating people in the crowds (white supremacists at Charlottesville). Though in C’ville the cops didn’t intervene—wonder why. 

They’re damaging property. The only issue I have with it is that, because our media is complicit, and continues to subtly, insidiously push the narrative of violent/savage black people, the focus of the story shifts. Suddenly all anyone focuses on is the looting. Not why there are riots. Not the literal war this country declared on black bodies 400 years ago that continues to this day.” 

-Priyumvada Naik 

 

(used with permission)

 

 29 May 2020