Violence

I asked Morgan Guyton for permission to share these words from a Facebook update he posted. The media pays scant attention to 10,000 protesting peacefully, but notices when property is destroyed. Society pays scant attention to the deaths of people at the hands of those with authority, but notices when property is destroyed.

I’m not in favor of destruction of property. But if anyone claims that that is the central issue in what has been going on in Baltimore, or what happened in Ferguson, then they are not representing concern for human beings. They are representing concern on the part of the dominant for their own property. And it is the fact that we live in a system where that can be considered acceptable that is the core problem.

For more on what has been happening, see the Baltimore Sun‘s and MSN’s coverage, and Ta-Nehisi Coates’ call to not focus on rioting while neglecting the underlying issues. Jacobin magazine has a piece on the fact that rioting is not a random occurrence.