Violence in THE USA
Police Violence Triggers Uprising in cities across the U.S.A.
One American city fights back against law enforcement abuse – but how far is too far?
Protesters marched on Chicago's luxury corridor during a major shopping holiday Friday and demanded the resignations of the city's top leaders, alleging a year long cover-up of a police video depicting an officer's killing of teenager Laquan McDonald. Protesters locked arms outside the doors of major retailers such as Neiman Marcus and Tiffany & Co., preventing shoppers from entering. To exit stores, shoppers often knocked on the glass doors and asked protesters to allow them out. Demonstrators chanted "Stop the cover-up!" and "16 shots! 16 shots!" which was the number of times the officer fired upon McDonald. In the wake of the video's release, protesters and community leaders want a Justice Department investigation similar to ones conducted into the police departments in Cleveland and Ferguson, Missouri, and one now being conducted in Baltimore.
The protest in Chicago's luxury corridor was for the most part peaceful however the violence that raged in Baltimore back in April of 2015 evoked many emotions in Americans – fear, anger, frustration, sadness are a few that come to mind. Admittedly, the death of Freddie Gray – a man who died of a severe spinal cord injury while in custody of Baltimore police – is another tragic example of a law enforcement agency that has, Americans believe, crossed a line between justice and abuse.
Coming on the heels of several tales of police-gone-bad – including the murder of Walter Scott by a North Charleston, SC police officer that we wrote about a few weeks ago – it is understandable that Americans are wary of the police right now. Forget about the fact that the only news that gains headlines and airtime are the sordid tales – and not those of everyday heroism that go unheralded.
It is easy to forget that what we are witnessing on our TV sets are the stories of the “bad apples that spoil the bunch.” Nonetheless, it is those stories that have sparked tensions, and undoubtedly were the fuel that lit the “fire” – literally, and figuratively, in Baltimore.
We at CWV Today understand the rights of all Americans to protest what we see as wrongdoings. But such protests should be peaceful -- and not manifested as the unbridled, uncontrolled violence that rages in Baltimore.
“Nonviolence,” said Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “is a powerful and just weapon, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the main who wields it. It is a sword that heals.”
Even the family of Freddie Gray has weighed in, denouncing the violence and pleading for peace.
In fact, when we quoted Romans 13:1-5 in our previous article about the Walter Scott case, it can be said that the same lessons are quite applicable to those who are looting, burning cars and committing other acts of random violence. The verse reminds us that EVERY person must be subject to governing authorities, because ALL authority comes from God. This is a reminder both that His ultimate justice will be done for those who committed the fatal injuries on Freddie Gray; as well as the fact that those who are breaking the law while protesting violently will, too, have their Judgment Day.