Whoopi Goldberg, an award-winning entertainer and co-host of “The View,” was up all night Sunday, wondering what the “end game” is for the rioters and looters destroying their communities in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after a former Minneapolis police officer pinned him under his knee last week for nearly 10 minutes.
While she said there’s reason to be angry, she pondered why some believe more violence could make the situation better, telling those who viewed her Instagram video: “I don’t think this is what George Floyd would’ve wanted.”
“More nights with scared children is not a good night,” Goldberg said.
“I think personally, everybody should stop and take a beat,” she explained. “And figure out what is the end game? What is it we are trying to do?”
The 64-year-old actor acknowledged the reality of the issues our country is facing, but said to those wreaking havoc in major cities that, “if you burn everything down,” we “still have to come up with a solution.”
“Because burning stuff doesn’t seem to be the answer, you know,” she said. “I looked at what was happening in Los Angeles and I kept thinking, ‘Doesn’t anybody realize that some family saved up all their money to open up a nail shop and now it’s burnt to the ground or it’s empty or destroyed?’ You know, they’ve been closed for, what, nine, 10 weeks, so the possibility of them being able to come back and go to work is probably gone.”
“And what about the supermarkets and the people who spent their lives trying to save up enough to have a franchise?” Goldberg continued. “Guys, this is not the answer.”
The celebrity’s comments were bookended by violent riots in cities across the U.S. over the weekend and again Monday night. The violence continued in some areas despite calls all day Monday from George Floyd’s brother, Terrence, who pleaded for peaceful demonstrations.
“Do this peacefully, please,” he said, earlier stating, “It might feel good for the moment, but when you come down, you’re gonna wonder what you did.”