The True Cost of Riots: The major losers are poor black people.

In a recent interview, BLM organizer Ariel Atkins argued that lootings are reparations for African Americans. Atkins denounced the suggestion that anything can be gained from peaceful protests. “Winning has come through revolts, Winning has come through riots, ‘’ she said. Unfortunately, the belligerence of people like Atkins has been nurtured by mainstream intellectuals, who originally downplayed the malevolent intentions of dangerous activists. Therefore, as adults, we have no alternative but to remind these youngsters that sparking riots is an ineffective strategy to advance the cause of African Americans.

A striking case against riots is clearly expressed in the findings of Professor Mary C. King whose research demonstrates “little relationship between regional progress for African Americans and relatively proximate race riots.” Riotous behavior often results in businesses fleeing minority communities, thus depriving residents of employment and income. Racism is an extremely sensitive matter; however, sensitivity must be tempered by logic. African Americans have experienced substantial progress over the past century.

Eroding these gains is a possibility if rational adults refrain from correcting misguided activists. Such was the impact of the race riots of the 1960s. Examining the effects of civil disorder on small businesses in inner cities, sociologists Howard Aldrich and Albert Reiss found that riots not only inflicted serious property damages but in the long term they made it prohibitive to operate in inner cities, hence driving up insurance costs. As a result, businesses migrated to nurturing environments. Low-income residents are the major beneficiaries of entrepreneurship in the inner city, so when emotions trump logic and businesses exit these communities, the losers are poor black people.

Minority children and the elderly and most vulnerable in the inner-city will pay the biggest price for the “defund the police” movement.

It is not just direct physical harm from being caught in the cross-fire of continual gang violence. It is the psychological impact of living in a war-zone, a lower quality of life, poorer schools, and a lack of opportunity that follows a loss of law and order. Life in these communities was improving under Trump and the left could not stand that because it was bad for their politics.

This is the real tragedy.

I lived in Philadelphia and knew many from some of the worst neighborhoods and they were my friends and coworkers. Most people irregardless of their neighborhood are good people and civil. What these BLM and Antifa scum are doing is pure evil and is horrifying to those who live in these war zones. The worst scum of the neighborhoods now have a blank check to do whatever they want from stealing,raping,murdering and destroying. The leaders of these groups and the city leaders need to be strung up for what they are doing.

I wonder how many of these inner-city poor actually do cast a vote personally for Democrats, and how many have their votes cast for them by the local machine. I suspect that if there were somehow to be a completely fair and legitimate election in one of these cities, we might see quite different results.

Never going to happen, though.

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