We are a people whose message is being co-opted and rebranded for something it was never intended to be. As I watched CNN being vandalized last night, I saw a white man using his skateboard to smash the window. Yes, black people were the perpetrators of violence too but seeing white people destroy and deface businesses, police cars and buildings pissed me off. In that moment I knew these people were not there for the cause. These people were not there to see justice served and stand in solidarity alongside black people. No, these people were there to co-opt a message.
Today I turned on my tv and saw a crowd made up of a majority of white people screaming “fuck the cops”, “black lives matter”, “no justice, no peace”. I saw some white people smashing the windows of cop cars, throwing up their middle finger, being told by black people to please stop. But they weren’t trying to stop because they had a plan and it had nothing to do with George Floyd. The plan was to rebrand the protest and turn it into a movement far from what was intended. The news media is seeing this and I see them on air trying to make sense of what they’re seeing. Trying to create a narrative for what they are witnessing. They expected the acts but they didn’t expect the race.
The government leadership in Minnesota stated that not one of the persons arrested were from that state. Think about that. Not one person. These people have co-opted the message of Justice for George Floyd. These people have co-opted the message of Black Lives Matter. These people have co-opted the message of No Justice, No Peace. These people are not thinking about the ramifications of what their violent behavior will have on black people when all is said and done. No, they mean us no good. Many may not even realize what they are doing and are instead followers. There are white supremacist sites on social media instructing people to go to these cities to incite, disrupt, loot and co-opt. There are ignorant black people rioting alongside them, clueless to what the outcome will mean.
If you're reading this and your thought is anger or annoyance at the fact that I am speaking about white people doing wrong....get over it. This is not a "good people and bad people on both sides" post.