Psychological effects of BLM riots

An Asian American Perspective
3 min readFeb 11, 2021

When opportunists realize there is little to no punishment for crime, normal people will become criminals and hardened criminals will become more violent. The violence will spread throughout our society until every group of people that can be victimized will be victimized.

In the wake of deadly BLM riots that lasted for 7 months, Americans gained the sense that they can loot, commit arson and violent crimes with little to no accountability. Most criminals were not arrested. Some criminals were arrested and released. Only a relative few saw prison time. As a result of the sustained prevalent deadly riots, what Americans see as acceptable human-to-human behavior has changed. Black Lives Matter has turned many otherwise normal people in America into Bigots, Looters, Murderers; it brought out the worst in Americans. Criminals discover the police in USA have no capacity to deter crime and the odds of being caught and punished is low; violent crimes and homicides continue to surge since the start of the first BLM riot in 2020.

Here are my personal psychological changes:

I had supported Black Lives Matter before the second riot. I had emailed/messaged dozens of politicians and public figures to change the laws and policies to reduce systemic police brutality. Now I am against Bigots, Looters, Murderers. I was wrong to think the first riot was justified. Now I know riots will only escalate violence. It will only get worse and we may have crossed the tipping point.

I was against gun ownership in America. Now I own a gun and think legal gun owners should automatically be granted CCW permits. If the surge in violent crimes in general and hate crimes against Asians continue, I think America needs to deputize all legal gun owners.

I had hated police because in almost all my encounters with police, they had acted like gangsters with power trips. Now I think most police are just trying to do their jobs so they can go home to their families.

I was against capital punishment. Now I support the death sentence for intentional homicides. It is unfair to the victims’ families to endure a lifetime of not knowing if the murderers will return to society to cause more harm. Some perpetrators cannot be rehabilitated.

I had thought news was just news. Now I think news especially in USA is just propaganda.

I had thought Big Tech and Social Media were outside of politics. Now I think they are in bed with politicians.

I used to think America was safe. Now I think anyone as tall or taller than myself, regardless of age or gender who gets within 10 feet of me is a threat to my life. I do not care what color you are. If I do not know you or recognize you, stay the fuck away from me.

Regardless of their race, Black Lives Matter leaders and supporters need to condemn the surge in Bigotry, Looting, Murders across communities in USA, and hate crimes against the Asian community in the wake of the 7 months of protests that turned into deadly riots.

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