美國前總統歐巴馬（Barack Obama）譴責示威者，這些示威者在喬治•弗洛伊德（George Floyd）死後訴諸暴力， 他稱這樣的暴力行為，徹底破壞了和平示威者，真正想要尋求與改變的目標。
“少數人出於純粹的憤怒，或只是機會主義，而採取了各種形式的暴力，這使得無辜的人民處於相對的危險之中，也相形加劇了本來就已經缺乏服務和投資的社區的破壞，並破壞了人們的生活。更大的原因。”歐巴馬在周一《 Medium》發表的一篇文章中寫道。
歐巴馬回憶起看到一段影片，其中有一位黑人老婦哭泣，稱其附近唯一的雜貨店遭到破壞，並指出這對有需要的社區產生了不利影響。
“如果有歷史作為指導，那家商店可能要花幾年的時間才能回來。因此，我們不要為暴力辯解，合理化或參與暴力。如果我們希望我們的刑事司法系統以及整個美國社會以更高的道德規范運作，那麼我們就必須為自己編寫該規範的典範。”歐巴馬寫道。
歐巴馬敦促那些對刑事司法制度和警察行動不滿意的人集中精力於地方和州選舉，並提出具體要求，以使“當選官員只為這項事業提供口頭服務，然後又像往常一樣恢復原狀，將更加困難。抗議活動消失了。”
他說：“如果向前邁進，我們可以將合理的憤怒帶入和平，持續和有效的行動中，那麼這一刻可能是我們國家實現最高理想的漫長旅程中的真正轉折點。”
Former President Barack Obama denounced demonstrators who have resorted to violence in the wake of George Floyd’s death, saying it undermines the goals of peaceful protesters seeking change.
“The small minority of folks who’ve resorted to violence in various forms, whether out of genuine anger or mere opportunism, are putting innocent people at risk, compounding the destruction of neighborhoods that are often already short on services and investment and detracting from the larger cause,” Obama wrote in a piece published by Medium on Monday.
Obama recalled seeing a video of an elderly black woman crying about the only grocery store in her neighborhood being vandalized, noting the detrimental effects it has on communities in need.
“If history is any guide, that store may take years to come back. So let’s not excuse violence, or rationalize it, or participate in it. If we want our criminal justice system, and American society at large, to operate on a higher ethical code, then we have to model that code ourselves,” Obama wrote.
Obama urged those unhappy with the criminal justice system and police actions to focus on local and state elections and make specific demands so that it would be harder for “elected officials to just offer lip service to the cause and then fall back into business as usual once protests have gone away.”
“If, going forward, we can channel our justifiable anger into peaceful, sustained, and effective action, then this moment can be a real turning point in our nation’s long journey to live up to our highest ideals,” he said.
source washingtonexaminer