Booker: We Need to Condemn Conditions That Make Protests, Outrage ‘a Regular Thing’

Friday on MSNBC’s “All In,” Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) acknowledged the outbreak of violence around the country, allegedly a result of George Lloyd’s death while in the custody of Minneapolis police, should be condemned.

However, he also said condemnation was in order for “conditions” that he argued generated the sentiment as well.

Partial transcript as follows:

You know, it’s gut-wrenching and it’s deeply painful, and I think what’s painful about it is the frustration that yet another black man has died, an unarmed black man at the hands of police officers. And immediately, the rightful thing, we’re outraged about this incident.

But I’ve seen this pattern play out where you see an uproar of outrage, but then we get back into a regular system where we don’t understand that this is not a sometimes thing. This kind of racism, this bigotry is so institutionalized that it puts so many of our fellow countrymen and women at risk every day.

And it’s our criminal justice system, which I know you know so much about, but it’s our healthcare system, as well with black women dying four times the rate in childbirth than white women. It’s in our environment, as well.

Still, race is the best indicator, if you are going to live around a toxic environment or toxic dump. We have deep problems in our country and what is heartbreaking to me is the utter lack of urgency to do something about it. We know that there are practical things we can do to create deeper accountability, transparency, and frankly, policing in this country to improve it and bring it into the 21st century.

The — President Obama had an entire task force that came up with dozens of recommendations, none of which we’ve seen on the federal level put into place.

And so, I — I see a lot of consternation right now, a lot of people talking about the protesters and talking about some of the violence that’s going on, and I condemn violence in every form, but God bless America. Can’t we realize that we also need to condemn the conditions that make such protests, such outrage, such a regular thing in our country?

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