PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATIONS?

I keep reading stories about the “peaceful” demonstrations that have been associated with the in custody death of George Floyd.

As a father, tax payer and active police officer I am confused by the terminology. In the Wikipedia post (George Floyd Protests) I saw several instances of what were documented as “peaceful” demonstrations that later became violent. In my opinion that would be like a “peaceful” bank robbery that only became violent after the teller refused to cooperate. The demonstrations that are being labeled as peaceful by most of the media and many politicians have included rocks, frozen water bottles and other projectiles thrown at the police, some had shots fired by protesters. Fire has been common at the “peaceful” protests. The most famous example of that, in my opinion, is the MSNBC reporter standing in front of a raging building fire while he is saying how peaceful, overall, the protesters have been. Lasers that have blinded some law enforcement personnel are a new addition.

The article mentioned that New York City, Seattle and many other cities experienced the “peaceful” protests for several days in a row. Seattle is the city that caught the public’s attention when Mayor Durkan compared the take over of 6 blocks of her downtown area by protesters to a block party and alluded to a “Summer of love.” The Mayor didn’t seem to see it as a problem until they marched on her own home. During the 24 days of The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) there were two gun homicides and several rapes and robberies that the police could not respond to in a timely manner because they had to convince the protesters to let them in. Maybe we are getting a little sneak preview of how well the “defund the police” movement will work out? I’m curious how the business owners and employees who were locked out of their offices for that little social experiment are feeling about it. Will the city reimburse them for their rent?

COPS ATTACKED

WTTW in Chicago reported that 1,258 were arrested in the Chicago demonstrations and 130 police officers were injured.                            NBC news reported that a Las Vegas police officer was shot and critically injured during protests in that town.                                              The New York Post reported that 700 officers have been injured during the protests, almost 300 in New York City. In the same article they reported that 150 federal buildings have been damaged.                                                                                                                                Police officers have been rammed by cars and numerous squads in multiple cities have been burned or stolen.

NOT ONLY COPS

A Texas store owner attempted to protect his property with a machete and was beaten near death by the protesters. On May 30th in Little Rock, Arkansas protesters shot fireworks at police. Historic St. Johns Church was set on fire in Washington DC. by protesters. In Nebraska protesters completely blocked traffic at a busy intersection. Rhode Island had a peaceful protest at their Capitol Building. The Capitol sustained damage later in the night.                                                                                                                                                                    Wikipedia lists 30 deaths and 14,000 arrested during these demonstrations that are being portrayed as peaceful. Statues are being torn down across the country by rioters and by politicians trying to appease them.                                                                                                        These are just some of the many examples of unlawful activity by the protesters.

In my opinion blocking the roadways is an act of violence. How is that, you may ask? Blocking a roadway intentionally may disrupt emergency traffic. If an ambulance is held up for any amount of time it can have serious consequences for the patient being transported. How does the street get blocked? Someone, or group, walks or runs in front of moving cars. Use your imagination to think of how many ways that could go bad.

Are they protesting because George Floyd was killed? If that’s the reason who are they protesting against? Everyone is agreeing that the cops were wrong. The suspects have been arrested and/or fired. Are they protesting because of systemic police violence? The facts don’t agree with that. There are 800,000 police in the U.S. and very few cases in which an officer blatantly violates the rights of a citizen, when that happens the officer is punished.

I am sorry there is unrest in our country. I pray for peace in our streets. I’m concerned that people burning down cities and attacking police are called “peaceful.”

I’m not sure what should be done, if anything. I guess I’m overreacting because, like I’m told regularly, these are just concerned citizens expressing their displeasure. I guess, when they’re finally through, we can rebuild our cities.