As Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the death of George Floyd continue across the country, there’s been growing concern about police violence toward protestors — one rightly fanned by photos of protestors bloodied and facing serious injuries. In addition to the pepper and tear gas sprayed at protestors, police have been armed with rubber bullets, traditionally fired into the ground or from a distance as a way to disperse crowds. Instead, protestors report police firing directly at them at close range, and many have sustained devastating injuries. Stars like Kacey Musgraves, Victoria Monét, and Halsey are speaking out against this use of force — here’s how you can join them.
Musgraves and Monet both signed this petition to ban the use of rubber bullets, sharing the link on social media to encourage their fans to join in. “There have been various occurrences where peaceful protesters have been shot with rubber bullets by the police, despite them doing nothing wrong to begin with,” the petition reads. “Rubber bullets can be extremely lethal. They may cause bone fractures, injuries to internal organs, or even death. It’s been proven that rubber and plastic bullets are too dangerous for crowd control and have even been banned in various regions including Kosovo and Catalonia.”
I signed 💌 https://t.co/bbj4nVlKPC
— K A C E Y (@KaceyMusgraves) June 2, 2020
A petition to stop the use of these rubber bullets https://t.co/KeD1P9hwFo
— Victoria Monét (@VictoriaMonet) June 1, 2020
Halsey experienced rubber bullets firsthand at a protest on May 30, capturing the moment on Twitter: “Fired rubber bullets at us. We did not breach the line. Hands were up. Unmoving. And they gassed and fired,” she wrote.
fired rubber bullets at us. we did not breach the line. hands were up. unmoving. and they gassed and fired. pic.twitter.com/K8YauF0APn
— h (@halsey) May 31, 2020
Many protestors have continued to report being wounded by rubber bullets and that these bullets were fired without provocation into a peaceful crowd.
I’m hit in the leg by a rubber bullet but am fine. State Police supported by National guard fired unprovoked into an entirely peaceful rally
— Ali Velshi (@AliVelshi) May 31, 2020
an update: I am permanently blind in my left eye, and the docs absolutely refuse to let me go back to work for they say six weeks. I’m definitely not allowed to be near smoke or gas.
Usually if I had to stay home I’d spend a lot of time amplifying folk but reading hurts today
— Linda Tirado (@KillerMartinis) May 30, 2020
Was just shot in face with rubber bullet by LAPD officer. A peaceful protest turned violent again by the cops. I’m headed to the Emergency Room. pic.twitter.com/roZl7n08OA
— Deon Jones (@deontjones) May 30, 2020
These images, like so many this week, break our hearts. Once again, you can sign right here to support this cause.
Leave a Comment