Amid the pandemic and the resulting chaos, the US has found itself caught in a series of protests that emerged after the death George Floyd. He was the African American man who succumbed to death after a police officer choked him with his knee in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020.
The discrimination towards the community is not something new but the country seems to be going through a phase of upsurgence which will likely, and hopefully, change things for better.
Now, the protests were marked by looting and burning down of buildings as a means to show anger and dissent.
Something which is being met by criticism from the higher-ups, including the American President Donald Trump. But the narrative isn’t linear, there are nuances to it, and the Daily Show Host Trevor Noah explains them:
When you are a ‘have’ and when you are a ‘have-not’, you see the world in very different ways. And a lot of the times people say to the ‘have-nots’, ‘this is not the right way to handle things’. When Martin Luther King had children as part of his protest, in Burmingham, Alabama, people said making children a part of the protest is not the right way to do things. When people marched through the streets in South Africa during the Aparthied, people said it’s the not way to do things.
When people burn things…they say it’s not the right way…it’s never the right way to protest because that is what protest is. It cannot be right because you are protesting against the thing that is stopping you.
@thedailyshow “There is no right way to protest because that’s what protest is.” ##dailyshow ##foryoupage ##fyp ##blacklivesmatter ##georgefloyd
♬ original sound – thedailyshow
He put things further into perspective with a chilling monologue.
(2/2) Trevor on George Floyd and the Minneapolis protests:
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) May 30, 2020
“If you felt unease watching that Target being looted, try to imagine how it must feel for black Americans when they watch themselves being looted every single day. Police in America are looting black bodies.” pic.twitter.com/oO6s8sNY44
Meanwhile the people on Twitter were divided in their opinions about Trevor’s views.
It’s very telling to see those who took the time to express how “appalled” they are by all the rioting and looting, but apparently weren’t appalled enough to say anything about what happened to #GeorgeFloyd
— Melissa Katsaros (@MelissaKatsaros) May 30, 2020
Fact. pic.twitter.com/1z4v9rrAtF
— sid (@comox131) May 30, 2020
Totally agree with you. At least someone standing strong against Black people getting robbed a decent life every day. Black getting robbed equality and respect. USA is becoming slowly but surely a South Africa before Mandela. #Apartheid #WhiteSupremacy
— Trump, Black Lives Matter (@Dr_tweeting) May 30, 2020
Trevor – normally I agree with you but not on this. Minneapolis is my home. We replaced elected offials and the police chief. The looters are not protesting they are lawless criminals. Watch timing as the BLM protests end hours before the fires. Looters want blood not justice.
— SPF100 (@SPF1003) May 30, 2020
Stop throwing oil on a burning fire..
— Phillip Banks (@phillip_banks_) May 30, 2020