Even amid the tear gas, the rubber bullets, the sirens, the fires, the standoffs, the looting, the “vicious dogs” and “ominous weapons,” the best of America has been visible. People who were angry and scared have acted with peace and compassion, defusing situations by protecting and embracing—sometimes literally—those whom others in their position might have feared.
These peacemakers sought no praise or recognition. A black protest leader in Pennsylvania approached a menacing battalion of police in riot gear to offer them bottled water. “I know you guys are doing your jobs. I’m not mad at you,” he said. The Washington Post’s Isaac Stanley-Becker reported that “from Baltimore to Sacramento, black protesters also were filmed protecting storefronts and placing their bodies before police barricades to preserve principles of nonviolence.” George Floyd’s brother, Terrence Floyd, called Monday for peaceful protest after visiting the site of his brother’s death. “Let’s switch it up. Do this peacefully, please,” he said.
In Fayetteville, N.C., a line of 60 officers on Monday knelt before a group of protesters “as a show of understanding the pain that is in our community and our nation regarding equality,” the police department said. Protesters, once riled by the show of force, cried and hugged and shook hands with officers, witnesses said.
In Genesee County, Mich., home of Flint, Sheriff Christopher Swanson on Saturday took off his helmet and had his officers put down their batons. “We want to be with you all for real,” he said to protesters. “I want to make this a parade, not a protest.” He agreed to walk with the crowd, giving them high-fives along the way.
Officers taking a knee or walking with the aggrieved will not give George Floyd his life back, and they cannot wash away the legacy of racist policing. Some officers have used excessive force in the past few days.
But these gestures prevented tense situations from escalating further. They undermined President Donald Trump’s view that the country is engaged in an implacable zero-sum battle among its factions, in which the goal is for one side to “dominate.” They represent the hard work of pluralistic democracy that Trump has left to others.