On Rioting

Once again, yesterday demonstrated that white people are far more concerned with the property of wealthy corporations than they are with the lives of black people. We see this over and over again during rebellions against police violence going all the way back to the media narrative around Watts over a half-century ago. We saw it again last night, not so much in the Times/Post media, which didn’t cover it much, but certainly on Twitter, local papers, and of course right-wing media, ranging from racebaiting to just that condemnation that “these corporations aren’t responsible for the death of that person!” As Martin Luther King said, “a riot is the language of the unheard” and it would be nice if whites would even begin to try and see that. But they don’t. Let’s face it, they know Target better than they know black folks. And they like it better too.