I am deeply grateful for the large, overwhelmingly peaceful, protests in the three months since the murder of George Floyd by a white policeman. Those protests have been essential and important. Perhaps for the first time since the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s, there is a chance for substantial change toward greater racial justice.
But scattered in the protests has been violence: rioting, looting, burning buildings and attacking law enforcement officers. It is essential to understand the diverse causes of that violence. It is perfectly understandable that after centuries of legal and illegal oppression by white Americans, African-Americans are angry and impatient. I get that. But violence does not help their demand--our demand--for equal justice.
Some of the violence has been done by people who think they have a chance to steal and get some free goodies. A little violence has probably been done by both right-wing and left-wing radicals who think that provoking violence will somehow help their cause.
But all this violence must stop! NOW! First because it is wrong. And second because it is politically disastrous, undermining the opportunity for real change.
It is wrong to set buildings on fire. Wrong to loot and steal property. Wrong to attack police. Wrong to throw bottles, bricks or worse at the police. Leaders of every profession (clergy, civic leaders, political leaders) must say: Stop now! This is unacceptable behavior in a democratic society. We will not tolerate violence by anyone—whether the police or protesters.
Furthermore, the violence is politically disastrous. If the violence continues, it will reelect Donald Trump. Already he is labelling Biden and the Democrats as the party of anarchy. He is subtly ( and not so subtly) warning white suburban women that the violence is about to invade and destroy their “safe” [i.e “white”] neighborhoods. (The racist subtext is always there—on that see the book I edited: THE SPIRITUAL DANGER OF DONALD TRUMP: 30 EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANS ON JUSTICE TRUTH AND MORAL INTEGRITY.) Even though Trump has stoked racism and division instead of uniting the country after George Floyd’s murder, he claims that he is the only one who can solve the problem. And keep us safe.
Violence is clearly counterproductive. That ought to be clear to everyone who loves justice, wants to end racial discrimination, and move the country to take big new steps toward racial equality. When Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. significantly changed our nation for the better in the Civil Rights movement, he did it through bold, loving non-violence—even in the face of brutal white violence. They won the hearts of the majority of Americans by their disciplined non-violence. That’s what gave us the great civil rights legislation: the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act.
So what must we do? Protest peacefully. Help our neighbors understand why decades ( even centuries) of racial discrimination must end now. And demand that all our political leaders act immediately to demand an end to the violence.
Write the president and demand that he stop using the limited violence that continues as a tool to be manipulated for his reelection. Insist that he seek to unite the country, not divide it. And write your Republican political leaders in the US House and Senate, telling them to tell the president the same thing.
Joe Biden has already been condemning the violence. Write, text and email Biden urging him to do it more often and more clearly – – repeatedly, regularly, vigorously. And write your Democratic representatives to do the same. They must both condemn violence and provide substantial structural change to end racism and promote justice. We stand at a unique moment that offers a genuine possibility for substantial movement toward greater racial justice – – but this opportunity will quickly be lost unless Democrats insist in a convincing way that they will not tolerate violence.
Remind Democrats that the slogan “defund the police” is counterproductive and politically dangerous. It is true that by “defund the police,” some people mean switching some resources from the police department to social workers, drug counselors, drug rehabilitation and more. Done wisely, that could be very good. But for too many people, including the swing voters who will decide the 2020 presidential election, “defund the police” sounds frightening and dangerous. It will drive them into the arms of Donald Trump.
Please don’t misunderstand me. I am perfectly clear that there has been substantial police violence against African-Americans and other minorities. That must end. Now. We must do everything necessary to root out racist cops and make substantial structural changes that will foster fair treatment for everyone. But “defund the police” is the wrong slogan to promote what we need.
Everyone who loves this country, everyone who longs for racial justice, everyone who seeks equal, respectful treatment for all, must insist: STOP THE VIOLENCE! NOW!
(Note: to find your senators and Congressional representative, go to: www.govtrack.us.
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STOP THE VIOLENCE--NOW!
Last time I checked 661 persons had been killed by law enforcement officers this year in the US. 123 were black. You must also take into account the crime rate and how people react when arrested.
The violence is in Democrat cites and Democrat mayors are letting it happen. Trump has offered to bring in the National Guard in Portland (where recently a Trump supporter was murdered by rioters), but the mayor refuses the help.
Also, it's not so clear now that George Floyd was murdered by a policeman and that narrative should cease until all the facts have been evaluated. It's very sad, though I'm sure it was intentional, that we don't hear about the entirety of these police incidents until after the rioting and violence. We're being played and that does NOT help race relations. It makes it worse, and I think that is the intent of the lawless instigators and anarchists.