George Floyd
And they do so even when it was blindingly obvious that something else was needed:
As in most failed states, the authoritarians running the show in the US spend vast sums of money on their militias, armies, spies, weapons of war, surveillance structures and prisons while neglecting the basic needs of the people. They murder and target the most vulnerable.
— jeremy scahill (@jeremyscahill) May 31, 2020
Cops have PPE and our doctors and essential workers don’t. That’s literally all you need to know about America right now.
— Meena Harris (@meenaharris) May 30, 2020
This formulation is showing up a lot in my Twitter feed:
Passive voice is for when the state does violence. Active voice is for when a protester does? Got it. https://t.co/2ror8Sen1K
— Rebecca Traister (@rtraister) May 31, 2020
They’ve got the receipts. Meanwhile,
No left group that organized protests encouraged violence. And the white folks doing most of the property damage are NOT part of any organized effort. SURJ & others clearly pushed against ANY such tendency. But right wing groups HAVE said they were infiltrating to cause violence.
— Tim Wise (@timjacobwise) May 31, 2020
I don’t know how true that is—it certainly is possible, especially in Pittsburgh—but those arguing for nonviolence still need to answer a question.
Dillon Carr and Natasha Lindstrom, “George Floyd protests in Pittsburgh: Curfew in effect; protesters turn violent; police cars torched,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, May 30, 2020, https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-allegheny/protests-underway-in-downtown-pittsburgh/
KDKA, “Pittsburgh Public Safety Has Declared ‘Unlawful Assembly’ Downtown, Urging Businesses To Close, Residents To Stay Home,” May 30, 2020, https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2020/05/30/protest-shuts-down-streets-downtown/