A conservative Democrat in Tennessee gave an exceptional speech on the rioting and mayhem we are seeing across the country and it’s absolutely worth your time to watch it in full. Trust me on this one:
MUST SEE: Democratic state Rep. John Deberry Jr. delivers an incredibly powerful speech on race in America. pic.twitter.com/Q34HouVGYC
— MRCTV (@mrctv) August 24, 2020
Here’s more on it from Fox News:
A Tennessee state representative called out politicians’ response to violence and property destruction taking hold in U.S. cities, saying rioters are “emboldened because we act like a bunch of punks — too frightened to stand up and protect our own stuff.”
State Rep. John J. DeBerry, Jr., a longtime Memphis Democrat, made the passionate speech on the floor of the Tennessee State Legislature earlier this month where he urged lawmakers to have “guts” and denounce the violent unrest. His words are still resonating on social media, as more violence and arson broke out in Kenosha, Wis., this week following the shooting of Jacob Blake on Sunday.
“Peaceful protests end peacefully. Anarchy ends in chaos. And what we see happening right now — any of us with any common sense whatsoever know that what we see is not peaceful,” DeBerry said.
DeBerry admonished efforts to “frost” over the destruction and attacks on law enforcement with nice rhetoric instead of calling out the clashes as “frightening.”
He mentioned the protests in Portland, Detroit and Seattle.
“They’re getting emboldened because we act like a bunch of punks — too frightened to stand up and protect our own stuff,” DeBerry said. “You tell me that somebody’s got the right to tear down property that Tennessee taxpayers paid for? That American taxpayers paid for? Somebody has the right to destroy it, deface it, and tear it down? What kind of people have we become that we can’t protect our own stuff!?”
DeBerry’s monologue drew applause on the House floor.
DeBerry, 69, had been a conservative Democrat until Tennesse Democratic Party officials “blindsided” him earlier this year by removing him from the House District 90 primary ballot for his history of voting with Republicans on issues like abortion and school choice.
“I think that someone decided that the only way that they were going to get me out of office was to remove me from the ballot. So this was what a tribunal did,” DeBerry told Fox News, referring to the state party’s executive committee. “[They] decided my political future and made a declaration that I was not a Democrat.”
I watched the speech in full and this is absolutely something that every young person in America needs to hear. Seriously, play it for your kids. It’s that good.