Name one time a riot brought about swift justice.
We just did this with the Ahmaud Arbery case. No riots, guys are in jail awaiting trial. Or the cop that thought she was in her own apartment and shot a man in his. No riot, convicted. There are many cases where black men got killed and shouldn't have where the killer got convicted, and many where the killer didn't, but I can't think of a single instance where a riot changed the situation.
First and foremost, people need to get keenly aware of how
Blacks have been treated in Milwaukee area. It hasn't been good.
But, more over, The issue is that we just did this. And yet we didn't.
And that's really, really the problem.
The Arbery case might seem like a victory to some, but it really isn't. It shows that the Blue Shield would have extended beyond the limits of the office if it wasn't for a video. It would have been a hero ex-cop bravely stopped a criminal who foolishly fought against him and his son when they tried to in act a citizen's arrest. Reminder, Arbery's murder happened in
February 23. McMichaels weren't arrested until May 8th.
Originally, a DA in the case called what the McMichaels did, run down an innocent man and accost him due to suspicions without actually witnessing a crime,
perfectly legal. Sadly, as shown by
Revnak, that similarity is shared now.
But going back to a statement I made earlier. Why is the Arbery Case not a victory? Because it took beyond extra steps to get some measure of justice. There's a reason why people always ask for calm. Not because Blacks are prone to riot. But Blacks are prone to being failed. That the anger and frustration of getting less representation and justice historically in this country while getting more marginalization and systemic mistreatment by all walks of this government and society pushes people to no end.
In comparison. A global pandemic happened. In this nation alone (at the time of writing this) the US has 103,441 deaths due to the Coronavirus. On the same token, There have been 363,061 worldwide. 28% of all deaths in this world due to this illness is here in the United States. But instead of seeing that this is out of control and we need measure to mitigate death,
Armed Protesters took to the streets to demand the stay-at-home measures be lifted. One more time, this wasn't a punitive action done by the Governments of this nation. It was to save lives. But whatever, a group of people felt their freedom taken away from what they deemed too long of a period of time, and they took to the streets.
That protest happened in May 14th, 2020. Michigan went on lockdown at
March 23, 2020. Apparently, 52 days (not even two months) is enough time when certain groups feel like they need to bring firearms when their civil liberties are taken away from them.
Once again, we're talking decades of oppression. Decades. Of being overpoliced, abused, battered, and killed without any repercussion or any real issue. A token firing here, an actual arrest there... nothing to really mitigate or reign-in the amount of terror that these people in Milwaukee feel.
And as to the actions? Well, it always brings me to mind of Star Wars. I find it fascinating how many people side with the rebels when they see a clearly oppressive culture dominate another, with superior weapons, tactics, and funding. How they always seem to pull for the underdog... in fiction. But when real life happens, they don't want to be bothered.
If there's an issue: "Yeah, yeah, can you talk about it quietly over there? I need to watch my sports"
If the issue hasn't been solved and there's renewed focus on it: "Jesus, are they still talking about that? Can't they focus on anything else?"
If the issue bleeds into a place they can't escape: "THIS IS INEXCUSABLE! I WORK FOR A LIVING, I PAY MY TAXES, AND I CAN'T ENJOY MY TIME OF WATCHING THE BALL GO INTO THE APPARATUS EVEN THOUGH THE ISSUE MAINLY CONCERNS THE PLAYERS OF SAID GAME?!"
If the issue boils over and unsavory actions take place: "God, they really just want to use any reason to get out of hand. Couldn't they just talk about it?"
This is the way that a certain amount of Americans want to handle issues when they pertain to Blacks. Keep it quiet so they can ignore it, and then full judgment mode if they can not any more. There's no banding together as fellow Americans to solve. It's just telling them to keep in the place.
If respect, representation, and Laws only apply against you, and not in favor of you... are you really going to want to follow that reign? Especially when the majority of the populace have power to do something about it, and then deem you not worth the effort?