On April 14, 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave a speech entitled “The Other America” at Stanford University, in which, he stated that “…A riot is the language of the unheard.” MLK, Jr. also stated that “Certain conditions continue to exist in our society, which must be condemned as vigorously as we condemn riots.” Indeed, for all those who decry the violence, incivility, rioting, and disrespect for institutions and authority at present, they need to take an honest look at their perception, so as to comprehend and take to heart those two sentiments so aptly worded by MLK, Jr. as something of immense value, providing them thus with the insight to know what needs to be addressed to help make America the nation that it should be, as opposed to what it has failed to become.
It has to be said, those that who don’t care about the proximate reason for a riot, because all they want is continual peace and quiet, are the very same, who aren’t doing their good part to alleviate the conditions of injustice and discrimination that make for a nation that favors some at the expense of others. The society that we live in fairly reflects the injustice or justice of the society as it actually is, and whenever there is civil unrest of any sort, to believe that the most appropriate way to take care of such, is for more law and order, creates the breeding ground for rioting. Look, in actual fact, the fuel that sparks riots is often not just injustice, but injustice that never corrects itself, and doesn’t appear that it will ever correct itself, and when people lose hope and have little or nothing to lose, they are going to be prone to rioting, so as to act our their frustration of the unfairness of it all, in this the richest nation that the world has ever known.
In this nation, the voiceless do not have a voice, because the powers that be, don’t permit them to have that voice, because this would represent an inconvenience to them, and if that happened, this might actually be a call for them to thereby have a conscience for citizens that are suffering, and that would thereby distract them, from pretending that all is well and interfere therefore with their pursuit of their self-interests. The reason why riots do not go away is that those who are unheard, are going to, sooner or later, find the means, to be heard, and even though this might not resolve a thing, it will at least provide them with a voice, that has now been heard.
America needs to take a good look at itself and its institutions, and fairly determine as to whether the opportunity for a good education, adequate healthcare, secure employment, and a satisfactory life, exist everywhere within America, or does it not? Because, what we find, is that those with a vested interest in America, typically have such, because they have at least some of the accouterments of success or believe that they have at least a decent opportunity to achieve such, and therefore are the types of people who aren’t going to riot, because they truly believe that America does represent the land of opportunity, and because they have hope, they believe in America; whereas, those that are placed in hopeless situations, are going to want to have their say, one way or another.