Protest organizers in Oakland didn’t want to stop people from looting because they didn’t want “restrict people’s freedom of expression.” I’m not going to use the looting and destruction as an excuse to negate the reason for the protest like I’ve seen some people do. But I support arresting people who do loot, and I support organizers of demonstrations doing what they can and organizing their own security,
When some people, like I’ve also seen trivialize the destruction It disgusts me, because people who destroy these small businesses are taking away the rights of others to make a living, give people jobs and provide products and services that people need. People who own a cafe, salon, etc. are not exploiting people. A lot of people who own these businesses are on the side of the protestors. The best way to alienate and shut people up is to attack them, break windows and steal their merchandise. This is not a Hurricane Katrina where people are hungry, have no supplies, etc. and have to get what they need. These businesses are not the ones that are charging 15.00 for milk or acting as occupying forces.
Do we want change or not? When demonstrators end up committing violence themselves, other people who want to be out there stay home. Those organizers who think destruction is just another way of self-expression need to ask themselves how they would feel if their ability and the ability of their employees to feed themselves was taken away or if their grandmothers, disabled people and people without cars had to spend the whole day and even more money taking buses to buy food and other products they need to survive.
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