The article reflects on the 2020 Portland protests that emerged after George Floyd's murder, criticizing the national media's framing of the events as lawless and chaotic. It contrasts these portrayals with the grim reality of racial violence, emphasizing that the real lawlessness lies in the actions of police against Black lives. It also speaks to the superficiality of many white responses to the movement, often reduced to apologies and performative gestures rather than meaningful change, and highlights a growing demand for public acknowledgement of systemic racism.
Lawless is one man kneeling on another neck until he dies. Lawless is kicking down a door and shooting a woman in her home. I can think of a million little lawless acts a day.
The headlines set up the narrative that demanding civil rights is scary. Soon after, every random white person with a social media account was going to #BLM our way to an equal society.
With the apologies and pilot programs and little seedlings of investment comes a demand for public recognition of systemic racism and its consequences.
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