American-Style Race Riots, Now In Australia by Peter Ewer

The tragic death of a 14-year-old Aboriginal boy in Kalgoorlie, by a man charged with manslaughter, led to more than 200 angry protesters gathering at the court house and rioting. The protesters demanded that the charges be up-graded to murder. Whether they are right about this or not is a matter for the justice system to decide, not them. But of course, they were protesting about that very justice system, hence the apparent need to attack symbols of that system, such as the police, who were pelted with bottles and rocks. Twelve officers suffered cuts and abrasions, and one officer was hit in the head by a bottle, and needed stitches.

Signs were carried with the words alluding to the American black protest movement, Black Lives Matter, “All Lives Matter.” What fair-minded person could disagree with that? But, if all lives matter, then so do the lives of police, who should not have been attacked by rocks and bottles. Such acts of violence threaten their lives and undermines sympathy which many people may have for their case. It is a foolish tactic because this is clearly a community torn by crime and drugs and well-deserving of as much help from the wider community as possible to deal with these social problems. It is hard to do so when confronted by the violence of the race riot.