Americans have had enough of system 'putting knees on our necks,' Blues star Toronzo Cannon tells RT amid nationwide riots
People are out on the streets because they feel unheard and sidelined by those running the country, Blues musician Toronzo Cannon told RT, as nationwide protests rage after George Floyd's death at the hands of police.
"The people just had enough, they feel that no one cares," Cannon, an electric blues guitarist, and songwriter, insisted.
He said rioters come from depressed neighborhoods, "they're economically deprived," which implies that protest is "the only way to lash out at the system."
It's like you're going to keep me low… basically, the system is putting their knee on our necks.
Protests and marches against police brutality quickly evolved into violent riots and acts of looting this week, leaving retail and luxury stores robbed and vandalized all across the US.
Cannon, a Chicago native, said that while he doesn't condone "breaking in the stores that has nothing to do with the death of Mr Floyd," he understands the roots of street anger.
I understand [why] they just can't control [themselves] anymore. They put their lives at risk and danger of being shot or being hurt.
Asked if he feels that the protest is being hijacked, he noted there's "a lot of opportunists" out there whose activity is "taking [us] away from the actual meaning of police brutality."
As riots escalated, President Donald Trump promised a heavy-handed response, warning "liberal governors and mayors" to bring the situation under control or face "the unlimited power" of US military deployed to quell the unrest.
To Cannon, Trump is "inflaming the situation." Instead of calling on Americans to unite, he appears to employ quite the opposite tactic, the musician argued.
Him and his administration seem to be enjoying the division between Democrats and Republicans, and making it a political issue when it should be just an American issue.
Cannon was speaking on the heels of news that the Minneapolis officer who kept Floyd in a choke hold for several minutes, Derek Chauvin, faced murder and manslaughter charges and was brought into custody.
However, indicting Chauvin alone wasn't enough as three other officers present on the scene stood back and "let him do it," Cannon said, explaining that the African American community isn't anti-police by default.
"The black community, the minority community, we appreciate the police and what they do and we know their job is hard." But if they break the law, they must be held to the same standards as regular citizens, he concluded.
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