If one more person says “Martin Luther King Jr. must be rolling around in his grave right now” I’m going to scream.

With the recent riots in Baltimore, it’s easy for people in positions of power to dismiss pleas for justice. It does take away from progression if you are vandalizing and destroying property. However, it only seems to be an issue when black people do it.

When other people are rioting over trivial things, like the outcomes of sports games, it’s covered by the news but those people are still somehow respected as group. No one constantly badgers white people, asking them to explain the behavior of only a small fraction of their race. Meanwhile anytime there’s a black outcry the media is quick to paint us as animalistic, immoral creatures instead of the justifiably angry human beings we are.

While I don’t condone rioting, I sure as hell understand it. This is simply a result of peaceful efforts being ignored and written off by those who are in a position to positively impact the lives of those constantly marginalized. The worst part about it is when things like this happen no one bothers to bring up the fact there are other people who are out cleaning up the damage. No one mentions the unification of the people who grieve for their loved ones, only things that detract attention from the actual issue at hand.