Editor's note: While the Victory Press has obviously been a sports publication for five years, we find right now that sports content – even the social justice- and equity-focused sports content that we normally publish – is inappropriate for what is going on in the world right now. This piece is by New York City-based activist Marian Jones, and it's about why rioting works as a political process. – Zoë
[Image description: A drawing of a blue NYPD cruiser on a black background, engulfed in orange flames. Original art by Colleen Tighe.]
Following the May 25 murder of 46-year-old black man George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, protests erupted around the country for over a week. Those demonstrations often escalated into riots after sundown when violent confrontations with the police, looting, mass property damage, and fires begin.
Beyond the emotional catharsis, violent protest serves an important political function. Yet, common wisdom says property destruction lowers popular support for reforms, rioting and setting police cars on fire has no rational purpose and is in fact perpetuating the same violence that killed George Floyd.
Political change, we are told, only happens when we work within the proper political channels, channels that have repeatedly failed to stop the unjust killing of black people by police. These criticisms fail to get deeper into the historical continuity between riots of the past and present.
Conveniently, it also leaves out the fact that rioting and collective acts of violence get results.
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broke: when they have to interrogate a suspect, Dirk is never allowed to be the bad cop because he’s too 1) friendly, 2) sweet, 3) English
woke: when they have to interrogate a suspect, Dirk is perfectly capable of being bad cop because he can play eerie and unhinged at a moment’s notice
bespoke: of the agency trio, Dirk is by far the most successful at being the bad cop because not only can he be eerie and unhinged, his settings include; “upsettingly friendly,” “exudes a heady aura of being deeply untrustworthy while smiling too much,” “most annoying person ever handed a kazoo,” “English,” and “conspiracy theorist, Beast Mode,” and he can jump back and forth between them with the agility, dexterity, and enthusiasm of a 40s swing dancer
#what are farah and todd gonna do? punch? #anxiously offer tea? #i feel like todd’s role is to sit on the edge of the table with the kind of relaxed smile that says to the suspect #‘buddy i’m happy to let him go on allll night’ #while Farah cleans her gun silently in the third chair
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