It is impossible to deny the significance of George Floyd’s death. His murder brought attention to a system embedded with racism and inspired countless people to speak out against injustice. Social media is filled with posts about how to spark change, and activists across the nation lead demonstrations to raise awareness of our country’s broken system. Nevertheless, it brings me great pain to watch people justify looting and vandalism with Floyd’s passing.
The most notable abuse of Floyd’s death is the violent riot that afflicted L.A. While the uproar began as a demonstration held by activists with good intentions, rioters overturned the activists and used their passion as a justification for wreaking havoc. Watching violent protesters loot and vandalize local businesses made it obvious that these criminals did not have Floyd’s legacy in mind. As millions of dollars worth of merchandise and supplies were stolen and destroyed on live television, I could only hope that the ensuing chaos would not be Floyd’s sole legacy.
The criminals not only destroyed the livelihoods of many innocent citizens, but they also left an inaccurate yet lasting image on the activists. Many activists were well-intentioned and sought to raise awareness for the Black Lives Matter movement, yet the looters and vandals who used the unrest to their advantage were what caught the public’s eye.
Even now, certain activists continue to defend the vandalism. Some common justifications are that protesters will not achieve anything with peace, that discouraging violence means that they prioritize businesses over African American lives and a night of vandalism is incomparable to the many years of oppressive racism that African Americans faced. I must agree, there is no doubt that peaceful demonstrations in the past had little effect, and it is obviously an inappropriate time to focus on economic recovery. It should also be noted that violent protests are incomparable to centuries of systematic racism.
However, these activists need to realize that a majority of the vandals do not stand for the BLM movement and are just trying to use the disorder to their advantage. Without question, it is necessary to cause disorder to get the attention of the public, but it is possible to create disruption without destroying property. Support for the BLM movement has never been greater, and activists should use this to their advantage to continue advocating with larger peaceful gatherings and increased social media presence, both methods that have captured the attention and support of the world without violence. Saying it is okay to loot and vandalize only contributes to the excessive publicity on negative stereotypes that plague African Americans already.
Irrational destruction also affects businesses that support the BLM movement and their employees. It is hard to keep supporters for the BLM movement if the destruction of their businesses continues to be approved, and it is likely that these actions have had negative effects on African American employees and businesses as well. And, even though merchandise is indeed replaceable for some, that is not the case for businesses that have been struggling to remain financially stable. While violent protests are indeed incomparable to centuries of oppression, supporting looting and vandalism significantly undermines the fight to end injustice towards the African American community.
Stonewall and slave rebellions are examples that people constantly refer to as movements that utilized violence to bring change. But unlike the past, many of the current perpetrators are using violence for personal gain rather than fighting for equal rights. Yet, we cannot only blame looters and vandals for the violence. A majority of them are reacting as a result of being oppressed by a corrupt system their whole lives, and police forces are focusing too much on confining peaceful protests rather than stopping actual offenders. However, we cannot expect to see change if we continue to support disorderly conduct amongst citizens that have no intention in advocating for African American rights.
Instead of promoting anarchy, advocates fighting for the end of discriminatory treatment towards African Americans should continue to participate in moderate civil disobedience to bring focus on the beauty of the African American community as well as the injustices they face to show the world they are as sophisticated as any other aspect of American society and deserve equal treatment.