Why was it so violent? President Kennedy spoke to the organizers of the March on Washington about his fear of violence in the nation's capital.
The people were unarmed. They were standing up for their civil rights. They wanted what every American wants, a better quality of life through work, and good pay.
So, what was it that broke out during these marches? None of the marchers wanted to evoke violence. There is every indication these were church-going folks.
The police in the USA, including those in Oregon right now, are escalating the circumstances of the protests. If violence breaks out it is a direct result of OVER POLICING. There is something very wrong in the way police confront protesters.
June 1, 2020
By Maggie Koerth and Jamiles Lartey
"Disproportionate use of force can turn a peaceful protest violent, research shows." (click here)
Minneapolis - Last Wednesday, Marcell Harris was hit by a rubber bullet. He had joined the second day of protests in this city over the killing of George Floyd, a black man who died after a police officer kneeled on his neck for more than eight minutes while bystanders filmed. Though these protests began with peaceful demonstrations outside the city’s 3rd Precinct, interactions between police and protesters had escalated. Police unleashed pepper spray, projectiles and tear gas. Protesters threw water bottles, built barricades and destroyed nearby property.
Harris said he had used his backpack as a shield and maneuvered close enough to take the baton of the officer who shot him. On Thursday night, he returned to the same spot to watch the precinct burn. With no police presence to be seen, he and other protesters were celebrating a victory. “I’m nonviolent,” he said. “But this feels emotional. George Floyd popped the bubble. It feels like the beginning of the end.” The end of what? “What we’ve been going through,” he said, referring to heavy-handed and often deadly policing of African Americans. “All the bullshit.”
Watching a peaceful protest turn into something much less palatable is hard. There has been a lot of hard the past few days, as people in dozens of cities have released pent-up anger against discriminatory police tactics. Cars and buildings have burned. Store windows have been smashed. Protesters and police have been hurt. When protests take a turn like this we naturally wonder … why? Was this preventable? Does anyone know how to stop it from happening?...
