These last few days have laid bare that we are a nation furious at injustice. Every person of conscience can understand the rawness of the trauma people of color experience in this country, from the daily indignities to the extreme violence, like the horrific killing of George Floyd.
Protesting such brutality is right and necessary. It's an utterly American response. But burning down communities and needless destruction is not. Violence that endangers lives is not. Violence that guts and shutters businesses that serve the community is not.
The act of protesting should never be allowed to overshadow the reason we protest. It should not drive people away from the just cause that protest is meant to advance.
I know that there are people all across this country who are suffering tonight. Suffering the loss of a loved one to intolerable circumstances, like the Floyd family, or to the virus that is still gripping our nation. Suffering economic hardships, whether due to COVID-19 or entrenched inequalities in our system. And I know that a grief that dark and deep may at times feel too heavy to bear.
I know.
And I also know that the only way to bear it is to turn all that anguish to purpose. So tonight, I ask all of America to join me — not in denying our pain or covering it over — but using it to compel our nation across this turbulent threshold into the next phase of progress, inclusion, and opportunity for our great democracy.
We are a nation in pain, but we must not allow this pain to destroy us. We are a nation enraged, but we cannot allow our rage to consume us. We are a nation exhausted, but we will not allow our exhaustion to defeat us.
As President, I will help lead this conversation — and more importantly, I will listen. I will keep the commitment I made to George's brother, Philonise, that George will not just be a hashtag. We must and will get to a place where everyone, regardless of race, believes that "to protect and serve" means to protect and serve them. Only by standing together will we rise stronger than before. More equal, more just, more hopeful — and that much closer to our more perfect union.
Please stay safe. Please take care of each other.
Joe Biden, Medium, May 31, 2020
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May 31, 2020
Voices4America Post Script.
This, from the New York Times,
With a nation on edge — ravaged by a pandemic, hammered by economic collapse, divided over lockdowns and even face masks, and continuing to be convulsed by racial discord — President Trump's instinct has been to look for someone to fight.
As several cities erupted in street protests, some of which resulted in clashes with the police, he made no appeal for calm.
Instead, in a series of tweets and comments to reporters on Saturday, he blamed Democrats for the unrest, called on "Liberal Governors and Mayors" to get "MUCH tougher" on crowds, threatened to intervene with "the unlimited power of our Military" and suggested that his supporters mount a counterdemonstration.
The turmoil came to Mr. Trump's doorstep for the second night in a row on Saturday as hundreds of people protesting the death of George Floyd and the president's response surged in streets near the White House.
Most were peaceful, chanting, "Black lives matter" and "No peace, no justice." But some ignited small fires, set off firecrackers, and threw bricks, bottles and fruit at Secret Service and U.S. Park Police officers, who responded with pepper spray. As police officers moved to secure the block, a Chevy Suburban was engulfed in a plume of black smoke and trees nearby were on fire.
Mr. Trump's statements did little to tamp down the outrage. Writing on Twitter, he called demonstrators outside the White House "professionally managed so-called 'protesters'" and suggested that his supporters would meet them. "Tonight, I understand, is MAGA NIGHT AT THE WHITE HOUSE???"
Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, released a statement early Sunday morning appealing for calm.
"We are a nation in pain, but we must not allow this pain to destroy us," he wrote. "We are a nation enraged, but we cannot allow our rage to consume us. We are a nation exhausted, but we will not allow our exhaustion to defeat us."
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Breaking - Some places In our country - Flint, Michigan, Camden, NJ, Kansas City, Santa Cru - police joined those protesting the murder of George Floyd.
Amen.
Here is my ‘prayer,’ sent to whoever hears it.
Protect our people. Protect our country. Protect Democracy.
#Justice4GeorgeFloyd
#EndRacism #EndHunger #EndInjustice
#EndTheTrumpRegime