Is it a 'riot,' or a 'rebellion'? One suggests reckless violence. The other signifies political resistance to oppression.
Riots erupted in cities across the country this weekend following the death of George Floyd, and the destruction was widely condemned by the president, local elected officials and many members of the African American community.
On social media, users called the arson and looting"disgusting" and"reprehensible." After a trail of vandalism across downtown Louisville, Kentucky, where EMT Breonna Taylor was fatally shot by police earlier this month, Mayor Greg Fischer said the"violence and destruction is absolutely unacceptable." President Donald Trump called the protesters in Minneapolis “thugs.
But historians and sociologists say reflexively condemning the actions as reckless or self-defeating minimizes the extent of people's rage. Floyd's death has now become part of an all too familiar pattern of confrontations between police and African Americans who lose their lives over minor offenses. For all the denouncements, there are many who defend riots as the actions of those who have exhausted every other way to be heard."I'm 58 years old now.
The riots, experts say, are demands for justice among those who claim they've been unfairly targeted for years. They ignite when people feel as though they have nothing left to lose, when the usual channels for affecting change in a democracy – non-violent protest, voting – have been ineffective.
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