Unheard

I don't think riots are going to solve anything. 

I want that to be clear.  I have tried engaging in conversations with people who don't understand why people are rioting. 

I hear their points on why they are against it.

I want them to hear that I'm against it to.

I desperately want it to end.

I also desperately want them to hear that, while the riots need to stop, there is a reason that they started.  And it is that reason that needs to be discussed and kept at the forefront of our thoughts. If we forget the reason that people have taken to violence, then we are doomed to repeat it over and over and over.

Not so long ago, when the civil rights movement started, the same thing happened.  There were riots in the streets and cities burned.  A subjugated people sat in restaurants and refused to sit in the back of busses. Changes were made and, on paper, things were made equal. There was much more involved, but I'm condensing. 

A long time ago, a nation was split.  Brothers fought against each other.   Over a million people died in those fights. An enslaved population was given freedom.  Changes were made and, on paper, things got better.  There was much more involved, but I'm condensing.

No, the people of today didn't experience the horrors of the civil rights movement. The people of the civil rights movement weren't slaves. It doesn't make the injustices of today any better. It doesn't mean that their fears are invalid. It doesn't mean that they need to be quiet.

As much as I want the violence to stop. It has done as it was intended. We didn't hear them speaking to their city officials, we didn't hear the letters written, we didn't hear their peace.  The nation hears now.  But we heard before as well.  We heard in Florida, Missouri, New York.... But it hasn't changed... And so, we hear in Baltimore. 

We hear you.  We hear that it isn't okay that a populous lives in fear of those who should protect.  We hear that you're tired of living that way.  We hear that there needs to be change.  We hear that you don't know what else to do.

We hear you.

We also hear those of you who stand up defending the police, and who march singing hymns. We hear the rival gangs that have united to try to restore peace and show that not everyone is violent in their efforts to change the world. 

We hear you.

This hits me. I want desperately to ignite change. I don't know how.

Martin Luther King Jr said it beautifully, 
"It is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots. It would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without, at the same time, condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society. These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get attention. And I must say tonight that a riot is the language of the unheard."

We hear you...