According to NYT Writer, Destroying Property Is 'Not Violence'
New York Times writer Nikole Hannah-Jones isn’t one to shy away from controversy. Her decision to participate in The Times’ far-left rewriting of history, “The 1619 Project,” makes that clear beyond a reasonable doubt.
As cities across America burn as a result of riots, Hannah-Jones’ commentary has reached a new level of insanity.
According to her, “Destroying property which can be replaced is not violence.”
In an interview Tuesday on CBS News about the protests — some of which have become riots — over the May 25 death of George Floyd while in police custody, Hannah-Jones said, “We need to be really careful with our language. Yes, it is disturbing to see property being destroyed. It is disturbing to see people taking property from stores.
“But these are things. Violence is when an agent of the state kneels on a man’s neck until all of the life is leached out of his body.”
She argued that in ordinary times, “any reasonable person would say we shouldn’t be destroying other people’s property.”
But the New York Times writer justified the destruction that has engulfed America’s major cities because “these are not reasonable times.”
Maybe Hannah-Jones does not realize it, but the violence and looting that she defended already have hurt racial minorities.
Brad Polumbo of the Washington Examiner highlighted this in an article Tuesday headlined “Economic destruction from riots and looting will hit minorities hardest.”
Polumbo’s piece profiled Korboi Balla, a black firefighter who used his life savings to open a sports bar in Minneapolis.
Balla epitomizes the American dream and the spirit of entrepreneurship that defines our great country.
Unfortunately, tragedy struck just days before Balla’s bar was set to open. Looters and rioters burned it to the ground.
In a Facebook post May 28, Balla’s wife, Twyana, busted the callous myth that businesses can easily rebuild, which the rioters, as well as Hannah-Jones, subscribe to.
“I’m hearing people say F*** the business they have insurance WELL WE DONT AND THIS IS ALL OUT OF POCKET!!!” she wrote. “Let someone come run in your home and loot for the cause then and let’s see you be ok with it!”
The idea that property “can be replaced” at the snap of a finger is beyond insane. Rebuilding properties that rioters burnt to the ground will come with an enormous price tag. Sadly, some properties and businesses will never come back.
It’s not like many of the businesses damaged in the riots that have unfolded over the past week did not face any difficulties prior to the tragic death of Floyd that incited them. Having to shut down because of lockdowns implemented due to coronavirus definitely caused a lot of economic pain.
Neighborhoods in Minneapolis, the site of Floyd’s death and the epicenter of the nationwide protests and riots, have been “blighted by years of neglect, suburban flight and disinvestment,” as noted in an Associated Press report Sunday.
The article described Lake Street, which is in the same neighborhood as the Minneapolis police station that burned to the ground, as a “success story” that “residents and business owners” spent “the last 20 years working to revive.”
Now, one resident of the area worries that “we’re back at square one.”
It’s not just businesses that have been destroyed during the riots. A retired police captain lost his life while trying to prevent looting at a pawnshop in St. Louis early Tuesday morning — one of at least 13 people who have died in the Floyd unrest, according to the AP. The looting and violence justified by Hannah-Jones will always result in tragedy.
Make no mistake: Everyone should support Hannah-Jones’s First Amendment rights. But her remarks, without a doubt, only encourage the destruction and looting of people’s property.
If President Donald Trump faces censorship from Twitter for “glorifying violence,” it only makes sense that Hannah-Jones should face some sort of blowback for her comments.
But she will likely face no consequences. The Times has no shame when it comes to hiring venomous firebrands. Let’s not forget about Sarah Jeong, the Times columnist who sent out tweets speaking disparagingly about white people.
The New York Times certainly has a right to keep Hannah-Jones on its payroll in spite of her distasteful and dangerous remarks. But doing so will provide just the latest indication that the “Gray Lady” has morphed from “the paper of record” to “the paper of unabashed, rancorous left-wing extremism.”
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