Keith Lamont Scott was fatally shot by police on Tuesday, September 20, near the University of North Carolina’s campus at Charlotte by police officers after failing to comply to drop his handgun. Too predictably, people took to their various social media platforms and kindled an uproar of anger in support of Scott, after his family claimed that he was both disabled an unarmed, reading a book in his car when the shooting took place. However, Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Police Chief Kerr Putney stated in a news conference the following day that Scott’s weapon was recovered from the scene, but no book was to be found.

Although the Scott family urged protesters to demonstrate peacefully, members of the community clashed with the police Tuesday and Wednesday nights. NBC reported that a tractor-trailer had been broken into, and its contents set alight. For the next three days, thankfully, the demonstrations were peaceful. These riots are particularly mind-boggling, because they fail to address the problem the demonstrations aim to illuminate. In fact, the violent acts are detrimental to the communities these protesters claim they intend to better.

Many citizens of the United States agree upon the fact that there is a race issue in this country. If there indeed is, the various protests similar to the one in Charlotte are doing absolutely nothing to combat the alleged countrywide epidemic of racism. A smarter way to facilitate and nurture change would be through the methods of Martin Luther King Jr. Using peaceful demonstrations and civil disobedience, including breaking unjust laws, Mr. King and his followers successfully ended the despicable practice of segregation in the Southern United States. What part of Mr. King’s method was flawed or ineffective? If he were still alive presently, there is no doubt that he would be fiercely denouncing the asinine exploits that the rioters make. In no way is burning the contents of a tractor-trailer going to accelerate the relation between races to a healthier level. We, as Americans, are beginning to drift apart and form separate groups based on our differences. A more valuable alternative would be to put aside differences in race, ethnicity, and religion, and instead come together as Americans in the United States of America.