Pumpkin Riot in New Hampshire says something else to me

In an article titled “Whites riot over pumpkins in NH and Twitter turns it into epic lesson about Ferguson” by Scott Kaufman for Raw Stories is much more than just a group of white people making a mess out of the annual pumpkin festival in New Hampshire.  For some, it is as this article reports “Police were forced to descend on Keene, New Hampshire Saturday night after students and outside agitators turned the city’s 24th annual Pumpkin Festival into “a destination for destructive and raucous behavior.”  “One rioter, Steven French, told the Keene Sentinel that he traveled from Haverhill, Massachusetts to attend the festival because he knew it would be “f*cking wicked.”  “It’s just like a rush. You’re revolting from the cops,” he continued. “It’s a blast to do things that you’re not supposed to do.”  “The police viewed the behavior of French and his cohorts less favorably, barricading streets and firing tear gas into crowds in an effort to disperse them.”

For those few, it was only a group of white kids acting out, these wanta-be thugs and trouble-makers are quickly dismissed as if they really did not have a message or a reason for doing what they did.  Wonder if the media will be even interested in their reasoning or story.

For others the story was about “white privilege” as clearly defined in one tweet that was featured where it was voiced, I’m paraphrasing, that “white people tossed beer cans at officers and got arrested, Michael Brown threw up his hands and got shot dead”.  Knowing the media, this will probably be the angle that they use to drum up more viewers and readers.

For me, this action told me another story.  It was not a story that had anything to do with color even though many will try and make it seem that way nor was it about blowing off a little steam.  I think this was all about those rioters getting fed up with how diverse our communities are becoming more and more each day.  How people are first judged by color instead of character and how those of authority seem content on allowing this division to grow instead of doing what they were elected to do and that is seal the chasms. 

That currently in political office is often heard talking about sealing the borders so that no one we do not want can get in.  Well the youth and future leaders of the country are saying something else.  Before you attempt to seal the borders to keep others out, seal the borders that exist between people who are already here.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Determination of History to Repeat Itself is Due to our Cowardice to Stop It

The Sudden Concern about a Democracy in Decay

Know Yourself by Knowing Your Child