I’ve been on the fence about whether to comment on the current situation in the world. Normally, I try to keep my opinions to myself and let the world do its own thing; keep it professional. But today, something compels me to write about the protesting and where I stand.

Not that I think it’ll matter much, given that I’m not some massive celebrity or huge social media influencer.

I’m just a freelance writer trying to make my way in the world.

I’m not a journalist, or popular news YouTuber who gets hundreds of thousands of views with every video.

In reality, I’m a small creator who does his best to help people learn how to do what I do for a living.

But this post isn’t about me. It’s about the craziness in the world and how injustice is a rampant thing. And to be perfectly honest, there has been quite a bit of that spanning the last two hundred years.

Looting is Not Protesting

I’m all for protesting and expressing yourself to invoke change. And from what I’ve seen on social media over the past few days, a lot of it has been peaceful. Which is our right as Americans, according to the Constitution.

But what sickens me are the scenes of people pretending to be outraged at a broken system taking advantage of the situation by looting stores and shops.

These people who stroll out of a ransacked Target with shopping carts filled with goodies don’t care about injustice or basic human rights. If they did, these thieves would join others to support a noble cause.

I’m also talking about the vandals who spray paint slurs, slogans, and other remarks simply because they want to join in the chaos.

But in the end, these people do nothing more than hurt the cause overall.

Then, we have leadership who views protesting and looting as one in the same. Leadership that threatens American people with military action against protestors…even though the ones protesting are often not the ones looting.

In many videos on social media, we view real protestors protecting shops from violent mobs of looters. So clearly, we can see the distinction between the two.

But not our leadership. No, those in high offices of power view all of these people as enemies to be “dominated.”

Do they not realize it’s domination that sparked this dumpster fire to begin with? The death of many from figures of authority culminated into this world-wide uprising.

So on one side, you have a population who is tired of seeing people of color unjustly die and the over-aggression of law enforcement. And on another, you have so-called leadership throwing gas on an already blazing fire.

The Failing of Leadership

Lead by example.

I don’t know who said it first, but the saying is a strong foundation for building virtually anything. Whether you’re in business or politics, leaders need to show how they want people to act and behave.

And this is part of why the protesting has grown as large as it has. Instead of leadership that tries to unite a people, Americans are divided and firmly entrenched in their beliefs.

Instead of engaging the protesting and offering diplomacy to the masses, most of our leadership today offers threats of further violence.

We have a broken system here in the states. It’s been broken for a very long time. However, many politicians and people in power consider more in regards to their pocketbooks than what’s best for humanity.

Lead by example.

You can maintain a position of authority and power without dominating the people. A true leader doesn’t have to throw fear into the masses to gain respect.

A true leader would also consider the focal point of the protesting and address the issue without enacting martial law.

How many condolences to families who’ve lost loved ones are needed before leadership makes a change? It takes more than an “I’m sorry for your loss” phone call, especially when similar situations keep happening.

If you want people to follow and respect all life and live peacefully, you must lead by example.

And Amidst a Pandemic

Perhaps part of what makes this even worse is the current stress we are under thanks to a global pandemic. Humanity was already at a boiling point thanks to the failure of leadership with thousands dying from a virus.

The population was already told to social distance and wear a mask while in public. It was only a matter of time before the proverbial straw broke the camel’s back.

I’m not saying this to lessen the degree of the protesting. No person should ever be asphyxiated by another who was sworn to “serve and protect.” In fact, I think we can all agree that killing in any form is, for the most part, bad.

Chasing down someone in a truck because you “think” they are up to no good is bad.

Gunning down a kid in the dark because he looks scary is bad.

Driving over a woman who was counter-protesting your point of view is bad.

Yet again, leadership is taking a back seat and waiting to see how far the situation escalates before taking logical action. And no, military oppression against those executing a constitutional right is not logical.

In reality, we are in the middle of a perfect storm of chaos. Without good leadership, navigating the waters is going to be far more difficult. But I still have faith in humanity, even though there are many who challenge that belief on a daily basis.

Will Changes Be Made Thanks to Protesting?

It’s hard to say, really. Many protests often lead to a brief moment of action from those in power. But then it seems like everyone kind of forgets about it and moves on.

Perhaps this time, the protesting will invoke changes to a broken system.

And I’m not just talking about overly brutal police. Everything from our educational system to greedy people in authority needs overhauling.

But that won’t happen without strong and respected leadership.