The Audacity

It is beyond me that people of privilege have the arrogant audacity to tell those living on the margins and those living in solidarity with them how they should protest. The same thing happened with Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. If it were not so pathetically a reflection of white body privilege, it might be laughable.

The Boston Tea Party was not a tea party. It was a violent form of protest against the excessive taxation of the colonies by British rule. It result in the loss of property by those who schemed to have blame assigned to others. It is an age old practice throughout human history as powerful rulers have oppressed their subjects through excessive forms of taxation. Christian readers may recognize this unfolding in Scripture as the Jewish people were unfairly taxed by Roman authorities. 

Never has a protest been initiated with a desire to appease the powerful. Think about that for a moment. Never has a protest been initiated with a desire to appease the powerful. Protests are intended to create discomfort for the privileged. They are not to endear protestors to the system, but to compel the system to change when reason is to no avail.

By their nature, protests are designed to bring attention to a matter long ignored or dismissed by those in positions to bring about change. Colin Kaepernick sought to bring attention to the significant number of African Americans killed by law enforcement. His simple act of kneeling during the national anthem was to show the hypocrisy of honoring a national narrative when the nation's people were not protected by those sworn to protect them.

Following the extra-judicial killing of George Floyd, there were nonviolent protests in each of the 50 states by a diverse peoples. As those with ulterior motives began to commit acts of violence assigned to others. From the comfort of their homes, onlookers complained about property damage as they conflated infiltrators with members of the Black Lives Matter movement. How quickly they manage to forget that the catalyst for the protest was a law enforcement officer kneeling on a handcuffed man's neck until he died.

The next time you complain about a nonviolent protest, check yourself. Move beyond your discomfort. What are you missing? The path of nonviolence is not an easy one. Those who practice it know that they are placing themselves at risk with no guarantee of a quick resolution. What depth of conviction does it take to risk so much?