About Those ‘Peaceful’ Protests: Michelle Obama and the Gaslighting Left
On October 7 Michelle Obama released a video statement which was pitched as her “closing message to Americans” before the upcoming November election. One of the subjects she discussed were the so-called protests which have been pummeling this country for more than four months now. Amazingly, Michelle Obama described these protests as “an overwhelmingly peaceful movement for racial solidarity.”
Looking straight into the camera, the former first lady claims:
“It’s true! Research backs it up: only a tiny fraction of the demonstrations have had any violence at all.”
Michelle Obama’s statement constitutes a complete denial of reality. The riots she describes as “overwhelmingly peaceful” have been anything but. Here are some facts: Thousands upon thousands of businesses have been destroyed and dozens of inner cities turned into virtual war zones. Anarchy prevailed in a number of places across the land. In Minnesota alone three hundred and sixty businesses were wrecked in the first week of the riots. By the end of the second week, the damage across the United States would reach nearly two billion dollars, dwarfing the previous record set by the Los Angeles riots in 1994 ($1.42 billion in 2020 dollars). The destruction has been so extensive and widespread that the insurance industry has declared it a “property catastrophe” in multiple states.
Violence erupted in most urban areas in the United States and in nearly every large city. According to a Princeton University study, riots took place in forty eight out of the fifty largest US cities. In an effort to counter lawlessness, more than thirty states had to activate the national guard. More than 200 cities had to impose curfews to curb the spreading violence. There have been over fifteen thousand arrests, but this number comprises only a tiny fraction of the vandals, looters and beaters who have been terrorizing our communities. The vast majority of these delinquents will never be apprehended or persecuted for their crimes.
The reality is that the George Floyd riots have led to the most costly and destructive civil unrest in US history. In fact, our country has not seen this level of violence and devastation since the days of the Civil War.