And today in thoroughly depressing news — because we needed more of it, apparently — police are looking for protesters in Columbus, Ohio, ...
And today in thoroughly depressing news — because we needed more of it, apparently — police are looking for protesters in Columbus, Ohio, who attacked a 58-year-old man with cerebral palsy.
In a series of social media postings, the Columbus Division of Police with information about the rioters who attacked Eldon Hawkins on May 31 to come forward.
Police also posted a three-minute composite video of attack on YouTube.
As the clip begins, Hawkins’ car is being blocked by protesters. He reverses at slow speed and ends up hitting someone on a bike with his rear bumper. Sadly (yet predictably), things got ugly from there.
“They threw a bicycle on my windshield and started kicking my doors and windows. It scared the life out of me,” Hawkins said at a Monday Columbus City Council meeting, according to the Columbus Dispatch.
WARNING: The following video contains vulgar language and violent images that some viewers will find disturbing:
Protesters even ransacked his trunk, littering the street with flowers that had been in the back of the car.
Some in the crowd eventually managed to talk sense into the people destroying his vehicle, although not until after the Buick had sustained more than $8,000 in damage.
Hawkins said that “some nice people who came and pulled me out of the car” guided him to the curb.
Don’t think the problems stopped there, however. According to WSYX-TV, rioters also attacked those who were trying to help.
Witness Phillip Hurst, meanwhile, said that Hawkins was attacked until people realized he had cerebral palsy.
“Reacted with a lot of anger and hate until soon after they realized this gentleman is handicapped,” Hurst told WBNS-TV.
“I saw a mix of both destroying and a mix of both helping,” Hurst said, adding that Hawkins “accidentally struck, and I emphasize accidentally struck” the biker.
“It’s one thing to protest, but when people start breaking windows and spray-painting the F-word, that’s turning this beautiful city into a dive,” Hawkins said.
Hawkins said he’s protested before — his father was a union man and he marched with him at the Ohio Statehouse in solidarity with first responders unions.
“We did not break one window, and we did not spray-paint foul language, because this is our city,” Hawkins said. “If troublemakers don’t like it, they can leave.”
Well, that’s not how it works nowadays. Troublemakers are encouraged.
Remember, damage to property really isn’t violence.
So what that Hawkins car needed $8,000 of work. I mean, they eventually stopped attacking him, right? Everything should be fine.
Keep in mind, this isn’t a guy who drove through protesters or meant to hit them. We don’t even know why he reversed. Perhaps he was flustered, perhaps it was a function of the cerebral palsy.
What is clear is that he doesn’t seem to be suspected of doing anything wrong.
There’s also the sick irony here. These protests were all supposed to be about police brutality, given that they were triggered by the tragic death of George Floyd.
I don’t think attacking anyone like this is called for, much less someone with cerebral palsy, a sentiment with which most protesters would likely agree. Only a few were actually willing to do something about it, however — and they were apparently attacked.
At least in this corner of Columbus, the focus on ending brutality seemed to be lost.
It’s stomach-churning to watch this video and look at how many were willing to participate in this violence, how many were willing to avert their gaze and how few intervened to put a stop to it.
These were people who were out to protest what they perceived as grave injustice. When injustice happened right in front of their face, however, they were far more reluctant to raise their voice or spring into action. Sickening.
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