Monday Ministerial Musings
By Rev. Mark William Ennis
Blog Number 24
June 15, 2020
Appropriate Anger
May 25 rocked our nation when George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis. I saw the video. If I were on the jury at a trial for Police Officer Derek Chauvin, the defense would be hard pressed to convince me that Officer Chauvin acted appropriately. Many people are angry over Floyd’s death. So am I. I am a supporter of police officers and hate when I see what looks like police misconduct. I think more of officers than that and unnecessary deaths really make me angry.
There are, of course, protests. There should be protests. Those elected to office as well as those who are hired to enforce the law deserve to hear loud protests. But I am no just angry that Floyd died, I am also angry at the destruction and harm that some protestors did. I don’t believe that destruction of property, assaults, and looting is ever a proper response to anger.
I have read the following estimates of the results of these activities in Minneapolis and these estimates do not include lawlessness in other areas of our nation:
Between $ 100 million and $ 150 million in property damage
570 businesses were damaged by vandalism or looting
67 businesses were entirely destroyed by fire
A factory that employed 50 people in the neighborhood where many of Floyd’s supporters lived was severely damaged. The owned has decided to not reopen the business but instead to move it out of town.
Grocery stores and pharmacies that Floyds neighborhood depended on are now closed.
Since many of the protestors were not wearing masks while protesting, there is a real fear that many Covid-19 cases will emerge from these activities.
I know that those who participating in such activities are a tiny minority. The vast majority of protestors did the right thing. They protested peacefully, justified in anger. And yet, the small minority were not properly controlled, did destruction, and probably caused some people who would have become allies, to distance themselves from this righteous movement.
There is a right way to express anger and a wrong way. When we do it the wrong way, we hurt the people whom we are trying to advocate for and the cause potentially looses credibility. Please let us use anger properly that voices may be heard with credibility, changes can be made that will lead to a better America.
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