The past few days have seen a few peaceful protests, but the incidents of looting and rioting have far outnumbered the nonviolent demonstrations. The mob violence over the death of George Floyd has spread faster than the Coronavirus, resulting in burned historical buildings, destroyed businesses, injured innocents, and annihilation of communities. Violence is rarely the answer, and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani lays a lot of the blame for the current anarchy directly at the Democrats’ feet.
In fact, the former mayor suggested that riots such as we’ve been seeing wouldn’t have been possible when he was in charge. In a tweet, Giuliani lashed out, claiming:
“These riots can be prevented. I did it with massive protests of police brutality kept lawful. I did it following 2 major riots under my predecessor; a pogrom in Crown Heights and a riot in Washington Heights. A riot was impossible when I was Mayor.”
In 1991, in the Crown Heights area of Brooklyn, a clash between Jewish and black residents took place. The next year a police shooting resulted in the Washington Heights riot, which Giuliani referenced in his tweet. At that time, Mayor David Dinkins was in office and blamed Giuliani, who was campaigning for the position, for encouraging officers who were protesting outside city hall.
Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police sparked anger and resentment on a level we haven’t seen for a while. As Liberty Nation’s Managing Editor Mark Angelides wrote, “Cities burn, guardsmen face off against violent protesters, curfews are in place, and at the heart of it all: politics and anger. This was 1968, and this is today.”
This isn’t just about vengeance, frustration, and hurt. Those expressions are protected by the First Amendment in peaceful protests. The gangs of rioters are egged on by a different agenda, one that has nothing to do with preserving lives and neighborhoods. Giuliani blames the Democrats and city officials for the mayhem:
“Cities run – and I’m sorry to get political – cities run by progressives don’t know how to police. I’m sorry. Thirty cities went up last night, I went and looked at every one of them. Every one of them has a progressive Democratic mayor.”
He continued his angry tirade, saying:
“Now with 7 days of Mob rule of cities with mostly DEMOCRAT MAYORS, it is obvious that these Mayors are incapable of protecting their citizens. They enable the rioters by abandoning police precincts for burning and ordering police to stand down and be assaulted without arrests.”
It is ironic that the majority of cities where the violence is happening are run by progressives and liberals. In the inevitable blame game, the left-leaners are going after President Donald Trump, and many on the right are upset with the tepid response to anarchic behavior. Trump catches flak for going on the offensive, tweeting out that “Crossing State lines to incite violence is a FEDERAL CRIME,” rather than sharing calming platitudes with the American people. He is determined to halt the destruction, writing: “Liberal Governors and Mayors must get MUCH tougher or the Federal Government will step in and do what has to be done, and that includes using the unlimited power of our Military and many arrests.”
The intolerant left has helped to spread the mistrust of police and racial rifts across the country. It has championed open borders and labeling those who don’t subscribe to progressive views as racist and inhumane. Is it any wonder that so many citizens who have been on house arrest for two months have had enough of the entire system?
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Read more from Kelli Ballard.
