Quote for Day: Wendell Griffen — "'Unrest' Is What Oppressed, Wounded, and Outraged People Do in Their Quest for Justice"

Wendell Griffen at his Justice Is a Verb! blog on how "civil unrest" takes on an entirely new complexion depending on who's discussing the term:

To put it bluntly, what the politicians and pundits are denouncing as "civil unrest" are the sights, sounds, and other efforts of people engaged in a grass roots struggle against institutionalized and politically sanctioned injustice.  These struggling people are no longer willing to accept the lies of politicians and profiteers who talk about "economic development" that leaves their communities with the highest unemployment, the worst social services, the most impoverished schools, and the most people with law enforcement credentials who abuse and kill their neighbors and relatives. . . . 

A hint to the politicians and pundits:  If you want peace, do justice.  Until then, expect more "unrest."  That "unrest" is what oppressed, wounded, and outraged people do in their quest for justice when they no longer trust or respect your "legitimate" processes and systems.  That isn’t something to denounce.  It is something to listen to, learn from, and use as impetus for the radical revolution of values Dr. King begged us to embrace before he was murdered for telling the truth.