We are a Nation of Rioters and Looters.
If you haven’t noticed, the Black Lives Matter movement has been incredibly prevalent not only in the news but in everyone’s day-to-day lives. Supporters are showing their support through signing petitions, donating to charities, and spreading information through social media. But many Americans are now debating over social media whether the methods of rioting and looting by the Black Lives Matter movement is a valid way to protest. My question is, why? As a nation America has a long, vast history of rioting and looting in order to enact change, and clearly, history is repeating itself. America has such a long, vast history of rioting and looting that we have accepted and taught history lessons on it. Don’t believe me? Here are just three examples of historically accepted riots and lootings in America:
Coming up first: The Boston Tea Party. I’m sure most if not all United States citizens are familiar with the Boston Tea Party, but would never consider it to be looting. However, I would. I consider it both looting and destruction of property which is exactly what the protesters are also doing for the Black Lives Matter movement. The Boston Tea Party is one of many events that jumped started our nation’s founding; are you saying that you do not support that?
Fast forward one hundred years and women in this country are staging protests to win their right to vote, after all the constitution says that the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is one that is god-given but only to men. The suffragists staged their protest one day before the inauguration of President-elect Woodrow Wilson in order for their message to gain more attention. This tactic worked, but not in their favor. Women participating in the protest fell victim to violent attacks from people who disagreed with their message while police along the protest route did little to help. By the end of the day, over 100 women had to be hospitalized for such injuries. These women were merely marching down the street, making their voices heard, and over 100 of them were hospitalized by the hands of people who were not even involved. Not to mention, the women that were fighting for their right to vote at this time were predominantly white; white women won their right to vote in 1920 while Native American women were granted that right in 1924, Asian-American women in 1952, and finally, Black women in 1965.
Just a quick skip and a hop ahead here about fifty years and we have the famous Stonewall Riots. These riots actually began because of police intervention; at the time in 1969, being gay wasn’t seen as the greatest thing. Police officers had raided the Stonewall Inn, a safe haven for many LGBTQ+ people at the time who had nowhere else to go. Marsha P. Johnson and Stormé DeLarverie are known as two people who had started the movement; DeLarverie having thrown the first punch at a cop and Johnson having thrown the first brick. The Stonewall riots was the first time in history where the LGBTQ+ community felt and saw that they could fight back against their oppression. Now, I’m ever the optimist, but I know the other two on this list are much more historically accepted and taught than this one; but frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn. Happy Pride Month.
So if you got this far and you still don’t agree that it is okay for protestors to riot and loot, frankly, I’m confused; could you not see what I was trying to do here? The founders of our nation would not have had their voices heard if they hadn’t looted tea that they were being unfairly taxed on. White women would have never earned the right to vote if they hadn’t peacefully protested despite the possibility of injury because of those who disagreed with them. We would not be celebrating Pride Month right now if Marsha hadn’t thrown that first brick and started a revolution.
The oppressed are done standing idly by; they want to be loud, they want to be fierce, and they want to fight for justice. A revolution is not won by walking down the street quietly, it is won by being so loud that the oppressors cannot help but stop and stare and wonder what they’re going to do about this. This is not a trendy thing that people are enjoying to jump on the back of the bandwagon of; people are risking their lives everyday to stand up for what they believe in, Black Lives. If my three examples have not convinced you, the rest of our vast, stubborn history as a nation should convince you that it is absolutely, fundamentally American to protest, riot, and loot in the face of injustice. Not only is it American but it is human; if humans are placed into a system that is broken and working completely against them to the point that it is killing them, they are going to fight back and force their voices to be heard, no matter what. So you can keep complaining and feeling so sorry for the poor giant corporations that have been looted, it’s getting the message out and seen more, so thank you.
