Community News

Inciting a riot – For the love of what shocks, provokes and separates

Published

4 years ago

June 13, 2020

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

The death of George Floyd has brought about a unity throughout the world, in an unprecedented way. After watching his cruel and cryptic exit from the world, protests ignited. For the most part, the protests were peaceful, but there has been some speculation as to how these protests were reported, and why mainstream media sources were going to the extremes to show violence, societal tension, and upheaval, especially in George Floyd’s hometown in Minneapolis.

What this article is intended to do is have media consumers review and revisit how they ingest news being pushed out by popular media sources including: Fox News, CNN, and even Canadian sources like CP24.

Navigating the media landscape
When you turn on the television, violence is there. You go on social media. More violence. Our reality is becoming distorted by the fictional world that is being created by mainstream media, and for many of us this fictional world is becoming our reality.

In the case of the George Floyd story, the media deemed it necessary to focus on only aspects of the truth, especially with what was happening when the protests started in Minneapolis. They made his death headline news but ignored aspects of the story that unless reported from people on the scene, the public would never know.

I don’t think many of us realize how powerful mainstream media is. They decide what stories get attention, and also what stories do not get attention. In general, mainstream media will not cover a story, unless there is a sensational aspect to it. To the majority of the mainstream media, the violence that exploded after George Floyd’s murder was exactly the type of news, they wanted the world to see.

The insidious development of the story surrounding the protests has had a great influence on the public’s perception of crime, including their belief about the amount of crime that occurs in certain neighbourhoods and cities across America. The journalists and reporters carefully decided what information about the story they wanted to include or leave out. They strategically picked their experts and decided where in the stories these facts and quotes from experts would appear.

Stories surrounding crime and violence are the fourth largest category of stories in the media space (Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime).

These stories highlight the unique, the sensational, the extreme, and those that have the potential to impact the greatest number of people. Why do they do this? It is because stories like this are rare. They shock us, are emotion provoking, and will dominate the headlines for days and weeks, and this leads to a distorted view of how common these crimes are (Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime).

What some of these media sources did is focus on what would excite. They didn’t show all sides of the story, only the sides that would ignite emotion. The looting, the burning, the rioting, and the violence: it had the affect that the media sources wanted it to have. It began to polarize people.

You heard about the bricks, right?
There have been strange events documented during this time of chaos. Interestingly enough, these stories are coming from citizens living in certain communities.

Apparently, bricks were appearing in certain cities, strategically in places where maybe interested parties wanted to see riots break out?

In Boston, police were seen in an alley unloading bricks from a vehicle. Strange, but they had an explanation for it. Twitter and Facebook are littered with videos from people who were in a position to observe the protest, show multiple piles of bricks in areas of the city where there was no construction underway.

In Dallas, bricks were placed near the Dallas County Courthouse. Why the bricks were placed at that location, or who put them there was not able to be determined. Law Enforcement Today independently confirmed with two active Dallas police officers that the bricks were in fact there, but it was unclear who put them there or why. These same officers were not authorized to speak publicly, but later spoke out and said, “It did appear they were strategically left in places where they would be of benefit to rioters.”

Now, who would want to instigate a riot?

The leaders in a peaceful movement for the people
The best part about being in media is the fact that you get exposed to real people, and real stories. I was connected to some key people who are fundamental parts of the peaceful protests that were happening in Minneapolis. Andrew Mercardo is a citizen journalist who has been covering the riots in Minneapolis. In our short but insightful session, he shared what he had experienced, and highlighted things that the mainstream media had not reported.

“I am just there documenting it. I was not protesting,” Andrew begins. “When I saw the videos that the rest of the world saw, on the Tuesday. I was sick to my stomach. The Wednesday, I told my friend that I was going to go there. I sat there for an hour at the curb (Cup Foods). My friend told me to live stream what was going on. I am not a journalist, but I thought hey! Why not! People kept watching the live stream, first 30,000 people, then 60,000 people began to watch.”

What was the energy like when you arrived? “People were protesting peacefully, and we were confronted by the State Police; they started gassing us and pushing us back. When I got shot at by the police, I started feeling PTSD (he is a veteran). It got real out there. What they are not showing is how the community pulled together to bring things under control. The community itself brought peace upon that part of Minneapolis. It is a safe zone, if you send a reporter there right now. It is the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my entire life. They have their own security, own ambulances. There are episodes of humanity that are not being reported.”

He shared some other things with me that I thought were interesting.

“The only time I witnessed a fire was the one being set by a white man at the Popeye’s that was burnt down. It was white people starting the fires, not members of the community.”

I am going to revisit Andrew’s last comment, but first, let’s talk about my short time spent with Corey Moore.

Corey Moore was another key face recognized during the protests in Minneapolis. He was travelling down with Andrew to attend George Floyd’s funeral when we spoke. “I made a point to thank Andrew,” Corey tells me. “They tried so many scare tactics with us. They were sending the national guards, police services, all of this for people who were simply standing together in unity.

I let people know, hey guys we are okay. The world is watching. Andrew’s broadcast brought out all the media. Having Andrew around helped me do what I wanted to do. Calm the people done. I pled to the governor. Stop trying to govern us! Govern the police department! All that craziness they are showing on T.V. We are out here taking care of each other. People are bringing food for each other. It went from being a war zone, to a safe zone in 24 hours.”

I was not surprised by what I was hearing, nor did it surprise me that although mainstream media had done a great job of sharing the aftermath of George Floyd’s death, they didn’t share everything. Just the parts of it that made highly African populated communities in Minneapolis look bad.

I had the opportunity to dialogue with C’monie, and her manager Tezzaree. For those who don’t know, C’monie is the organizer behind the fundraiser Encouraging Leaders, as well as the #wecantbreate movement (http://wecantbreathe.org/). During our talk, she was open, and emotional about the topic. “It broke my heart. I was instantly in tears. Watching it happen right in front of me was crazy. It hit me hard! My girlfriend and I popped up at the first protest, and we were sceptical. There was initially tear gas, people screaming. At first, I stayed at a distance, but something deep inside told me I had to be there. My body told me I needed to go.

She said something that was reminiscent of what Andrew had told me in his interview. “There is footage of white supremist groups smashing out windows. They are actually the ones who are responsible for the destruction of the police station.

People were tired of the destruction. I was hurt. We are watching our city burn down. We decided to take a stand, and now peace and love is being shared throughout the community. People are standing up and supporting. People are coming from all over the world. People from all cultures, and nationalities helping out, trying to make a change.”

I also had an opportunity to speak with Tezzaree who is C’Monie’s manager. Again, a familiar record of events was mentioned. “This issue of injustice has been around for a long time. White supremist groups are coming in from out of state and tearing down the community. White supremist groups are doing the spray painting. They are contributing to the chaos. The black people are not burning down buildings. We might be taking things of value, which is not condoned, but white people are coming in tearing it down.”

What is not being documented is the unity. There is a shift of energy, and things are changing. People are stepping up and bringing peace to the community. We are out here raising money to help seniors who are not getting food or medications because pharmacy, and grocery stores have been burnt down. It has worked out for our good; because of the community stance, laws and constitutions are being reviewed.”

Peace reigns supreme
What has been remarkable to see is the amount of support that has been rallied across the world. Globally, people are taking a stand.
An estimated 10,000 people attended a rally in London, Ontario
People gathered at Nathan Philips Square in downtown Toronto and protested peacefully as they moved northwest onto Bay and Bloor St.
A group of protesters gathered at Trinity Bellwoods Park, and marched towards Queens Park chanting “No justice, no peace.”
More than a thousand people took part in a peaceful demonstration in Barrie, Ontario last Thursday
Hundreds of people gathered in the intersection of Riverside Drive and Ouellette Avenue in downtown Windsor, Ont. to protestthe death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet

In Ottawa on Friday, protesters marched to Parliament Hill, where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined them
Communities are coming together to clean up South Minneapolis
People were forming human barricades to prevent people from looting stores
There are photos of police officers hugging and standing alongside protestors
Communities in Minneapolis are coming together, donating food and supplies for those who needed it
Police officers are being protected by protestors, especially ones who were there supporting the movement
Young people are dancing and enjoying themselves at the protests
There is global solidarity; even the Amish community is getting involved, holding up Justice for Floyd signs

Millions of people have demonstrated, mainly peacefully, across the United States, Canada, and the globe. How about we take a moment and think about the fact that this has unified us. Let’s hope this unity lasts. Believe me; we are about to face greater devils. Let’s not forget. A vaccine is just around the corner.