Former President Barack Obama denounced demonstrators who have resorted to violence in the wake of George Floyd’s death, saying it undermines the goals of peaceful protesters who are seeking change.
“The small minority of folks who’ve resorted to violence in various forms, whether out of genuine anger or mere opportunism, are putting innocent people at risk, compounding the destruction of neighborhoods that are often already short on services and investment and detracting from the larger cause,” Obama wrote in a piece published by Medium on Monday.
Obama recalled seeing a video of an elderly black woman crying about the only grocery store in her neighborhood being vandalized, noting the detrimental effects such destruction has on communities in need.
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“If history is any guide, that store may take years to come back. So let’s not excuse violence, or rationalize it, or participate in it. If we want our criminal justice system, and American society at large, to operate on a higher ethical code, then we have to model that code ourselves,” Obama wrote.
Obama urged those who are unhappy with the criminal justice system and police actions to focus on local and state elections and make specific demands so that it would be harder for “elected officials to just offer lip service to the cause and then fall back into business as usual once protests have gone away.”
“If, going forward, we can channel our justifiable anger into peaceful, sustained, and effective action, then this moment can be a real turning point in our nation’s long journey to live up to our highest ideals,” he said.
