Ariana Grande thanks Obama for 'continuing to be such an incredible leader,' while Alyssa Milano still calls the former POTUS 'Mr. President,' after he shares some thoughts on how to make 'real change.'
- Jun 2, 2020
AceShowbiz - Barack Obama continues to be an agent of peace while still supporting the protests to end police brutality on black people. On Monday, June 1, amid the nationwide riots in the wake of George Floyd's death, the former president shared some advice on how to make peaceful "real change" from the situation.
In his blog post, Obama said the protests represent "a genuine and legitimate frustration over a decades-long failure to reform police practices and the broader criminal justice system in the United States."
While he applauded "the overwhelming majority of participants [who] have been peaceful, courageous, responsible, and inspiring," he condemned "the small minority of folks who've resorted to violence in various forms, whether out of genuine anger or mere opportunism."
He criticized them for "putting innocent people at risk, compounding the destruction of neighborhoods that are often already short on services and investment and detracting from the larger cause." Urging Americans not to make excuses for the violence, he added, "If we want our criminal justice system, and American society at large, to operate on a higher ethical code, then we have to model that code ourselves."
The political figure went on advising people to make change by participating in voting, because in the end, "it's the district attorneys and state's attorneys that decide whether or not to investigate and ultimately charge those involved in police misconduct." He stressed, "The bottom line is this: if we want to bring about real change, then the choice isn't between protest and politics. We have to do both."
The 44th president of the United States has since been praised for his powerful words of advice. Ariana Grande, who was seen participating in the L.A. protests, tweeted, "thank you for continuing to be such an incredible leader to us. more so than anyone else," before echoing the "importance to register to vote and get educated on / ready for the primaries in your state."
Alyssa Milano still called Obama "Mr. President," tweeting, "Thank you, Mr. President." La La Anthony wrote, "Thank you. We need leadership," while Allison Janney and Leah Remini retweeted his post.
