What Have We Learned After a Month of Rioting?

            On May 25, 2020, Americans watched in shock and heartache as George Floyd was killed under the knee of a rogue cop. None of us were surprised to see people rise to protest the brutality shown in the act. When the protests turned to violence – looting, burning, killing, we became apprehensive. Then the rioters began to destroy American history.

            The rioters first toppled statues and wrote graffiti that commemorated the Civil War. Then they started to topple statues of former presidents who may have been against slavery but were “not for blacks.” We wondered when the violence would end and why the rioters could continue their destruction.

            Democrat/liberal mayors and governors allowed the violence to continue until large portion of their cities and/or states were burning. Republican/conservative mayors and governors took actions to stop the violence. Many of us wondered why President Donald Trump did not send in the military to stop the destruction. We were forced to sit back and watch the destruction with seemingly little or no consequences taking place.

            I gained a little understanding when I heard someone – I think that it was Attorney General Bill Barr – discuss the division of responsibilities. He said that state and local police are responsible to step in and take control of the situation, and the responsibilities of the federal officers is to come later and solve the crimes.

            Last Thursday Barr participated with Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) in an episode of the “Verdict” podcast. Barr indicated that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has about 500 active investigations into the destruction and burning during the riots over the past few weeks.

We’ve had scores of indictments so far for such things as arson, destruction of federal property…. We have right now about 500 investigations underway, so it’s picking up pace. We are committed to holding accountable the people who engaged in this.

State and local are not doing their jobs.  

       

            Trump, Barr, and other federal officials consider the violent behavior to be domestic terrorism. In fact, Antifa – a big component of the riots – has been designated as a domestic terrorism organization. Barr made the following statement about domestic terrorism in May.

“[T]he voices of peaceful and legitimate protests” have become “hijacked by violent and radical elements” consisting of “outside radicals and agitators” who are “exploiting the situation to pursue their own separate, violent, and extremist agenda….

“It is time to stop watching the violence and to confront and stop it…. The continued violence and destruction of property endangers the lives and livelihoods of others, and interferes with the rights of peaceful protesters, as well as all other citizens.”

            All America watched the death of George Floyd and stood with the protesters. My Facebook page was full of black squares and pledges of “Black Lives Matter” to show blacks that we are listening to them. However, the behavior of the rioters as well as their continual demands have caused many of us to step back to get a better perspective.

            Other information started coming out. The organization “Black Lives Matter” funnels funds to Democrat politicians. Everyone who contributed to the organization to make black lives better made an indirect contribution to the Democrat Party. This is one reason why Democrat mayors and governors did not stop the riots. It is also one reason why Democrats in Congress are not serious about passing legislation to reform police departments. It looks like Democrats as a group do not want to solve the race problem.

            Another bit of information that has surfaced is that the protesters/rioters are majority white with only a small percentage – maybe 15% -- being black. I have listened to statements made by numerous blacks that the white liberals are just making the lives of black people harder. Most blacks do not want to destroy history, do not expect white people to bow down to them or shine their shoes, do not think that they are better than whites, do not want us to be their saviors, or any of the other demands made by the rioters. They just want to have equal justice and to be able to live their own lives without fear or prejudice. In other words, they want to be treated as Americans and not as second-class citizens.