The video of Minnesota Police Officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on the neck of of George Floyd as he pleaded that he couldn't breathe sparked outrage. It was a disturbing video and the screams for justice came quickly.
Chauvin was arrested a few days later and charged with murder. That's how our system works; that's how justice works.
But protests quickly turned to violence, looting and vandalism. I cringe every time I see the national news and the networks call these looters and vandals protesters. They are not protesters anymore, they are criminals.
I can understand the protests and I can understand the frustration, but I can't understand the looting and vandalism. I've come to the conclusion that these thugs used the death of Floyd to somehow justify burning vehicles, burning stores and stealing everything in sight.
I was thinking the other night and wondering how Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., would feel about the looting and vandalism. He preached peaceful demonstrations against the government, not violence. I also thought about Charles Manson who tried and predicted a race war in this country.
I traveled to Brewton Sunday afternoon and took photographs of a peaceful demonstration near the intersection of Highways 31 and 41 in front of the old theater. Good for them, that was their right.
Our forefathers gave us the right to protest against the government. Think about that for a second. It was the government that gave us that right in the first amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Here's a little history lesson of the words of the first amendment: 'Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the government for redress of grievances.'
I've seen a lot of signs being posted saying 'We want justice' in the aftermath of Floyd's death. But I wonder what kind of justice do those people want? An alleged murder has taken place and the alleged murderer has been taken into custody. That accused murderer will be tried in court. That's how the system works. So, to this point, justice has been served.
I've listened as some said Chauvin should be tried, convicted and hung the day after the video was released. That's not justice. I thought that's what the protesters wanted. They didn't want justice, they wanted a lynching. I really thought that was what the protesters didn't want, they wanted justice.
I saw the video and it was disturbing. But I didn't know all of the evidence. Did that one video tell the whole story? I don't know.
I talked to somebody this week that pointed something out to me. You watch a college football game on TV and the coach tosses the red flag wanting a video review. In the major conferences, like the SEC, they have multiple camera angles from very good cameras. How many times have you seen the man in the white hat come out and say the video was inclusive so the play stands as called on the field with multiple eyes looking at multiple angles.
The looters, thieves and vandals don't care about justice, they just care about destroying other people's property and running out of a Target store with a big TV set.
They complain about inequality, but now they have forced the government to spend millions of dollars to combat their crimes – money that could have been spent building schools and providing jobs.
Is shooting a cop in the back of the head justice? Is burning down small businesses justice? No, it's an excuse to be violent. Don't confuse the protesters, like the ones in Brewton Sunday, with the looters, thieves and vandals. They are two entirely different groups. Don't confuse the thugs from the peaceful protesters.
Some are following the law, others are looking for an excuse to break the law. Many want Chauvin hung up by his toenails. Some of these thugs need to be hung up right beside him.
It's not totally a black-white issue. I've seen white peaceful protesters and I've seen white thugs looting stores. I saw blacks and whites together Sunday in Brewton.
Cops have a tough job to do. They are no different than any other profession. The one bad apple doesn't spoil the whole bunch. We've got good cops around here that put their lives on the line everyday to protect us.
We need to respect the laws of this country that include peaceful demonstrations against the government. We don't need people taking the law into their own hands.
