Over the weekend, Los Angeles streets erupted in smoke and fire after coordinated ICE raids on June 6–7 led to the arrests of over 100 undocumented immigrants, mostly Latino. Protesters responded with fury—burning cars, waving Mexican flags, and confronting heavily armed federal agents. What followed was swift and aggressive: tear gas, flash-bangs, riot gear, and 2,000 National Guard troops deployed under Title 10.
Now compare that to January 6, 2021, when white insurrectionists stormed the Capitol, vandalized federal property, assaulted police officers, and smeared excrement on sacred ground—yet somehow walked away with selfies, handshakes, and delayed arrests.
Let’s not sugarcoat it. What’s unfolding in Los Angeles is more than an immigration crisis—it’s a textbook example of racial double standards in American law enforcement.
Two Protests. Two Americas.
In L.A., Latinos protested against a system ripping families apart. Their protests were local, emotional, and driven by survival. Yet they were met with military force almost immediately—a full-scale show of power rarely seen outside of wartime.
In D.C., white Americans tried to overturn an election. They killed a cop. They beat others with flags. They chanted about hanging the vice president. Yet they walked out like it was a political field trip.
What’s the difference?
Race. Plain and simple.
What If They Were Black?
As African Americans, we don’t even have to guess what would happen if it were us. We saw it after George Floyd. After Ferguson. After Mike Brown.
We get curfews. Tanks. Helicopters. Indictments.
They get delayed charges and Netflix documentaries.
Latino communities are now getting a taste of what Black America has known for generations: the system responds not to what you do, but who you are.
Divide and Conquer?
Here’s the real kicker. While the media compares brown protestors in L.A. to white rioters in D.C., what they don’t want is for Black and brown communities to recognize the game: we’re all being played.
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Black protests get criminalized.
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Brown protests get militarized.
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White riots get romanticized.
The goal? Keep us divided. Keep us quiet. Keep us afraid of fighting back.
Final Thought
To the Black community: don’t just watch what’s happening in L.A.—learn from it.
To the Latino community: welcome to the truth Black folks have been living with for centuries.
To the system: we see the hypocrisy, and we’re done pretending it’s justice.
This ain’t about politics anymore. It’s about whose pain gets punished and whose gets protected.
And until that changes—this ain’t the land of the free.
