Pro. 29:8 “Mockers stir up a city, but the wise turn away anger.”
Pro. 29:16 “When the wicked thrive, so does sin, but the righteous will see their downfall.”
Pro. 29:25 “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.”
29MAY20
I have been watching with alarm as once again, cities in our nation burn. Now, do not get me wrong, I understand the anger over the death of George Floyd and at the weak response from Minneapolis PD. Officer Chauvin was clearly in the wrong and used excessive, no…Brutal force against George Floyd.
I believe he should have been arrested and not merely fired. The officers who stood by and let him kneel on the neck of someone who was handcuffed and restrained was criminal. Any of those officers could have stepped in and stopped him but they chose not to. They SHOULD have stepped in and stopped him.
I can not condemn what happened to Mr. Floyd strongly enough. But does the death of George Floyd justify the rioting that is presently happening in Minneapolis, Columbus, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Houston or any of the other cities across our nation? No. No, it does not.
The Rioting, looting and wanton destruction that is happening, begins largely in Minority neighborhoods before it spreads across the cities that these riots occur in. Minority communities tend to be disproportionately harmed by these riots and as a result take longer to recover. Minority businesses get destroyed as part of the ‘Protest’.
The media talking heads try their damnedest to attempt to legitimize these riots and frame them as a form of legitimate or even justifiable protest. Now, I have no problem with protesting what happened to George Floyd. We should protest what happened. Indeed, the constitution guarantees us the right to peaceably assemble and petition our elected officials for redress of grievances. It is a fundamental core of our republic. The right of private citizens to tell our Government, “Enough!” Protests have led to some of the most historic changes in our nation’s history.
What is happening in these cities is anything but peaceful protest. Miscreants, often not even a part of these communities, come in and hijack the protests and use them as an excuse to run rampant and steal, burn or otherwise destroy anything in sight. These people do nothing to honor the man who was tragically and senselessly killed.
Our president has ordered the FBI and the DOJ to thoroughly investigate what happened and seek justice for George Floyd. Contrary to what the Media has been saying, he has been calling for calm and while his comments have been artless to say the least, they have been spot on. He is right, when rioting and looting start, people get hurt or killed.
The people engaged in the rioting, looting and destruction ARE thugs. They are of all races; white, Hispanic, black…They span multiple demographics and backgrounds. Calling violent criminals engaged in rioting and destruction thugs is not racist. To assume it is somehow racist, that somehow it only refers to black rioters? That is what is truly racist because largely? Most of those rioting ARE NOT BLACK!
These people are violent criminals, regardless of color or creed. Their actions are violent, dangerous and I would call what they do, acts of terrorism. While you have an absolute right to peacefully assemble in protest, nothing in our Constitution gives a person the right to engage in rioting and the willful and wanton destruction of property.
We should absolutely be angry at what happened to George Floyd. It never should have happened. But we need to direct that anger in productive ways. Protest, March, Pray, Demand that those responsible be held accountable. But do NOT riot. Do not loot and destroy your neighbors store. Do not burn down buildings, putting other lives at risk with your wanton and reckless destruction.
I pray that Almighty God will restore sanity to these areas. That he will ease the anger and direct it into something positive. I believe that Almighty God can and WILL turn this tragedy into something beautiful, even if we can not see or understand what that might be right now. Finally, I pray that Almighty God will put his shield of protection around those trying to keep others safe whether they wear turnouts or Police blue.
~Finis
Author’s note: At the time I wrote the draft this morning, Officer Chauvin had not yet been taken into custody. He has been arrested now. Still, the delay in arresting Officer Chauvin is unconscionable and shows a problem in the leadership with MPD and the Hennepin County Prosecutors office.
