Baltimore is burning. Riots have broken out in the streets. We are all aware(or should be if we are not) of what is taking place. But in this blog posting I'm not going to talk about this particular riot or any particular riot. I want to talk about riots themselves. I want to speak about riots in general because many people seem confused as to what a riot is and what inspires them.
Throughout human history, in the absence of social justice, people have always taken to the streets. Riots in the face of injustice is nothing new. It happens globally and it has happened historically. "No justice, no peace" isn't simply a saying or a slogan or a rallying cry. It is an undeniable truth.
People don't just wake up in the morning and decide "I think I'll riot today." Riots take place in the absence of justice. When people feel that cannot and will not receive justice through the system you can bet that when tensions flare something is going to be set ablaze. You can bet something is going to be destroyed. It is the nature of humans and humanity.
A riot is the result of what happens when people cannot take a given situation anymore. A riot is what happens when people feel they have no other recourse. A riot is what happens when justice is gone. When hope is gone. When all there is left is anger and frustration. A riot is a reaction. It's what happens when people feel they have nothing left to lose.
When people collectively take to the streets it's because those people feel all else has failed. It is the purging of pent up anger, pain, and despair. Again humans don't just wake up and decide to riot. They don't say "Hey everybody! We are going to riot at 6pm! Be there!" No. It doesn't happen like that.
Injustice is the powder keg. A riot is the explosion. When people are rioting in the streets en masse it's because we have failed as a society. To focus on the riot itself is short sighted. To paraphase MLK "A riot is the outcry of the oppressed".
If you are one of those people who are going on about how "violence begets violence" or "violence solves nothing" or "why are they destroying their own neighborhoods" or anything similar, I must tell you that you are missing the point. It's time we shifted our focus on what inspires these acts and not just the acts themselves. It's time we learned from our history as human beings. Social injustice has always and WILL always lead to violence in the streets. That is the bottom line.
Follow me on Twitter @DocSinn
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/officialdocsinn
No comments:
Post a Comment