Protests in Philadelphia on Monday by #Blacklivesmatter turned into rioting and looting that night. The “mostly peaceful” #blacklivesmatter protests continued on Tuesday night and Philadelphia has now experienced a 2nd day of out-of-control mobs destroying the city. Rather bizarrely, the supposed cause of all of this is the shooting of Walter Wallace. Wallace, a convicted felon, had a knife, refused commands to drop it, and kept moving forward towards retreating police officers who had their guns drawn and eventually shot him to death. Very clearly, the lives of the police officers were in danger and it’s entirely possible that the only reason that they’re alive is that they shot Walter Wallace. In a sane world, that’s not a controversial shooting. We can and do ask the police to risk their lives for us, but asking them to be stabbed before they are allowed to defend themselves is asking too much.
Nevertheless, Philadelphia was again in chaos last night because of all this. Just look at this havoc.
Phila. Police commanders say the situation has ârapidly gone downhillâ along Aramingo Ave. â a âtotal loss,â they say, from looting. Chopper 3 shows video of demonstrators & police at 52nd and Chestnut. As of this post, no injuries to police tonight. @CBSPhilly pic.twitter.com/cPjyAqSpys
— Joe Holden (@JoeHoldenCBS3) October 28, 2020
The Philadelphia Police Department is requesting that all residents in the 12, 16, 18, 19, 24, 25, and 26th Districts remain indoors except when necessary. These areas are experiencing widespread demonstrations that have turned violent with looting.
— Philadelphia OEM (@PhilaOEM) October 28, 2020
Looters in Philadelphia are pulling up in cars and rushing into stores to grab as much as they can before driving away. pic.twitter.com/I7MCwLnnAg
â Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) October 28, 2020
Looting Walmart to cure systemic racism. https://t.co/CAV89LeziG
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) October 28, 2020
Mass looting up and down Aramingo Ave in Philly pic.twitter.com/xC4Q6FvbTP
â Shelby Talcott (@ShelbyTalcott) October 28, 2020
Outside the @SeattlePD west precinct, a driver tries to leave the area but is surrounded by BLM protesters, who organized a vigil for violent career criminal Walter Wallace. pic.twitter.com/hjtcHxn7LG
— Andy NgĂ´ đłď¸âđ (@MrAndyNgo) October 28, 2020
11 people shot while looting in Philadelphia so far since last night. âLooters were shooting looters.â â50 yr old man that had his car filled then was carjacked and had all his stolem stiff re-stolen from himâfrom @PhillyPolice on scene of looting tell FOX 29. @FOX29philly pic.twitter.com/FahA709kFN
— Steve Keeley (@KeeleyFox29) October 28, 2020
BREAKING: Philadelphia police have completely lost control of the affected rioting region which stretches multiple city blocks
Looters have broken into more than 30+ stores and are attacking white people
They are also shooting each other. Iâve only witnessed one arrest pic.twitter.com/bHPGAntwST
— E (@ElijahSchaffer) October 28, 2020
A dozen people were reportedly shot including a 15-year-old. 30 officers and counting have been injured. Supposedly, members of the National Guard were being deployed, but reports on the ground seemed to indicate that no one was seeing them. Tonight, they need to be out in force to take back the streets from the mobs.
In America this year, we’ve spent months demonizing the police, saying that we should defund them and in many places, they’ve turned a blind eye to violent mobs breaking the law at will. Now we’re at the point where even a clearly justified police shooting is treated as a free pass to “purge” for a few nights. Obviously, this approach isn’t working. So maybe we should try something different, something that they do in every part of the country that hasn’t turned into a war zone this year. It’s called, “law and order.” In places where they have “law and order,” you see a little different approach. Peaceful protesting is welcomed, but anyone who gets out of hand gets arrested and the district attorneys don’t drop the charges or let them out on bail. People in those places want cops that do the wrong thing to be punished or kicked off the force, but they also support and respect the police because they understand that it’s a tough job. Additionally, they believe that *** gasp *** citizens also have responsibilities when they deal with the police. Because of that, they don’t throw things at the police or scream at them and they would EXPECT to be shot if they attacked an officer with a knife. This is not some mystery, it’s how it works in the most functional parts of the country, which inevitably end up being where Republicans are in charge. Maybe some of these places that have to deal with these rioters should try it….or not. Maybe some people just like crime, rioting, and violence.
John Hawkins is the author of 101 Things All Young Adults Should Know. You can find him on Parler here & Twitter here.
