I thought it might be fun to pick at some of the apologetics offered on behalf of rioters these days. Here’s the first.
We are told that objecting to arson reveals us as indifferent to justice, and partial only to property. This is not true, of course. People who hate the rioting, from Black Lives Matter activists to National Review to the president, all expressed a desire to see Floyd get justice before the riots. And burning the AutoZone has no notable relationship to expediting the arrest of Floyd’s killer.
What’s more likely true is that the person who apologizes for the riots cares only about the AutoZone as an abstract symbol. The corporate entity is likely to be made whole by insurance but still close down. The mechanics and clerks who will lose their jobs are done a serious injustice.