The New York Times’ Nikole Hannah-Jones, guiding spirit of the Pulitzer Prize winning 1619 Project, has an interesting take on the destruction of property we’ve seen in the riots that have gripped the nation in the wake of George Floyd’s death. Ms. Hannah Jones said:

Violence is when an agent of the state kneels on a man’s neck until all of the life is leached out of his body. Destroying property, which can be replaced, is not violence. To use the same language to describe those two things is not moral.

What a heartless thing to say.

If your livelihood is destroyed, you can replace it—just like that. No big woo. I’d like to know what planet the cavalier Ms. Hannah-Jones lives on.

Here are a few examples of what in Hannah-Jones’ world doesn’t qualify as violence:

Former firefighter “KB” Balla and his wife poured their life savings into starting a sports bar in Minnesota that was looted and destroyed by rioters. Inexplicably, Mr. Balla was distressed at his family’s loss:

‘It was all coming together and when COVID-19 hit, the reality of not being able to open for a grand opening was difficult,’ he added. ‘To find out that the countless hours, hard work, late nights away from my kids, and family had all been for nothing was soul shattering. It is not the material things, more so the time that cannot be reclaimed.’

An elderly black woman in Brooklyn saw her store destroyed by rioters. She made remarks standing in from of her ruined store:

‘The problem that bothers me? You said Black Lives Matter,’ the emotional black woman is heard saying while other people cleaning up the destruction look on.  

I’ve worked here part time and I’m a part owner of this store.

‘You said Black Lives Matter. Why don’t you choke me? I’m black!’ she says as she makes a choking gesture on her throat.

The woman, wearing plastic gloves from cleaning up the damage, then walks over and points out a pile of destroyed goods from inside the store which are now on the sidewalk.

‘Tell me Black Lives Matter? You lied – you wanted to loot this store. You needed money – get a job like I do!’ she says.

Talk about needing sensitivity training!

Tom Harlan of Anthony’s Pipe & Cigar Lounge in Minneapolis has been at his store for 35 years. It was vandalized:  

‘They broke all my cabinets. Everything was shattered. They broke my humidor. They broke into the office, broke my safe [and] blew up one of my security cameras,’ Harlan said. ‘They even took the plywood off the barbershop across the street and broke the glass and went in there.’

He said the whole area is boarded up and sprinkled with graffiti now.

‘Last night, I was just shaking,’ Harlan continued. ‘I was on my patio trying to drink a beer, and I was just trying to gather my thoughts and see how I can regroup.’

Oh, shut up.

Immigrant Luis Tamay worked and saved his money for more than ten years to open his Ecuadorian restaurant,  El Sabor Chuchi, which has been in business for 7 years. Inexplicably, Mr. Tamay seemed very sad that his property was destroyed in the riots:

He was aghast to see Facebook videos showing El Sabor Chuchi in flames — and even more so when he called 911 for help in vain. By the time Tamay got to his restaurant Saturday morning, it was burned to the ground, along with establishments on either side. He didn’t have insurance, he said, because quotes for the neighborhood were too high. The father of two was already working hard to pay his employees and other bills.

‘There’s the freezer right there; the kitchen was right there,’ Tamay said, pointing as he climbed the pile of rubble. ‘Seventeen years of work is gone.’

Crybaby.