Racism lives and continues to thrive in America and around the world. Police brutality in Minneapolis, Minnesota that resulted in the death of an African-American man named, George Floyd, on May 25, 2020, sparked riots across the United States and caused disruptions around the world.
US cities assess protest damage, await another day of unrest by By TIM SULLIVAN and MATT SEDENSKY
Reading or watching news isn’t my favorite past time and it took all of the chaos going on in my hometown of Atlanta, Georgia to draw my attention to what is going on in many American cities.
In researching for this blog, I read what one source stated that I know most people will not see the seriousness of one word used in the following statement “terrorist“:
“Officials moved to restore order. Governors called in the National Guard, mayors extended curfews for a third night in some cities and President Trump said he would designate Antifa as a terrorist organization.”
The Wall Street Journal, Officials Look to Restore Order After Riots
Though I am not an attorney and do not intend this to be legal advice by any standard, I am of the opinion that under American law, terrorism and domestic terrorism carry strict penalties, and when coupled with conspiracy laws, the use of that one word, when tied into legal terminology few can comprehend, many people who are protesting and are in the group of those tied to the violent offenses, may be charged accomplices.
If you don’t believe me about the severe criminal penalties for terrorist-related crimes, read what the law states in 18 U.S. Code CHAPTER 113B—TERRORISM
Two of my former blogs also relate to conspiracy laws and how easy men and women may end up spending the rest of their lives in prison. The men I wrote about got lucky when former President Obama commuted their life sentences: https://straightfromthepen.com/2016/01/05/freedom-for-a-friend/ and https://straightfromthepen.com/2016/08/09/freedom-for-another-friend/
My hope is that the protests do result in needed changes to eliminate racism and police brutality in America and abroad. The reality is that the stereotyping will continue for decades more to follow, because there will always be those who refuse to move away from the past and see each person as they are, rather than by some external element beyond control.
The sad part for me is in knowing that innocent people always get caught in the crosshairs of anger and hate and suffer dire consequences for what others have done. In this case, that will include the innocent protesters who get labeled as terrorists and go to prison for the rest of their lives for only doing what they felt they must do to take a stand against injustice.