not everyone at the protest was there for the cause but rather to stir and escalate things. for those in the black community that did engage in the riot afterwards, I can tell you there is no guidelines set in place for the way people riot but the pure emotion that that group is feeling. but the results of the riots though are not the focus, it is the cause behind it happening. whether it happens in a smaller city like grand rapids, larger cities like LA, or the place of origin where George Floyd was murdered. the black community has been asking why for centuries and little has been done to give them answers to why their loved ones have been killed. violence isn’t condoned but when people have had their voices oppressed, their actions oppressed, their rights oppressed because of the color of their skin, violence is bound to happen. a reaction is bound to happen. and however it happens— however they decide to mourn, however they decide to stand up, however they decide to show their emotion— is up to them. in the same way you are at liberty to stand up, mourn, and show emotion in your own way too. it is complex, it is not uniform, and it is not meant to be understood by everyone. it’s okay to not understand and it’s okay to feel scared, but if you’re looking for a concrete reason as to why this all happened look no further than to ask why all of this started in the first place. this is much bigger than just George Floyd’s murder, it’s for everyone murdered, assaulted, mistreated, and undermined by police brutality and systematic racism. it’s for every name not even known because of the media’s lack of coverage. and it’s for the rest of the black community that feels unprotected and terrified of even having an encounter with the police. this is ingrained. in the same way as to not question why a person feels grief for so long, or not to question someone’s reasoning for having a mental illness, practice the same for this community’s mourning and emotion. the community’s experiences are their own. trust that they will stand up to these injustices how they know they will be heard after living through years of learning how people listen to their issues. similarly, know that those outside of the black community will also stand up to these same injustices in both peaceful, and physical acts of protest. there’s a deeper understanding that goes further than the results of the riot. stand in solidarity. continue to say their names. black lives matter.
