Inside Clarendon Wine on Boylston Street yesterday.
Looters who smashed into places like Marshalls and Walgreens Sunday night were not particularly discriminating - they also destroyed small mom-and-pop businesses across downtown, the Back Bay and the South End.
Kayla Elizabeth set up a GoFundMe page to help her family recover from what they found yesterday morning inside their Clarendon Wine on Boylston Street in the Back Bay:
Today was a very tough day. As many people have seen, the amazing protest for Black lives matter turned into a riot once the sun set. The message of life and the call for equality was marred by people taking the opportunity to destroy and loot businesses. These are people who truly don’t care why there was a protest, they were in it for self gain. Unfortunately we unlucky and were targeted by those individuals.
Also destroyed: Dartmouth Street Vision Center on Dartmouth Street in the South End, which opened as a black-owned business as part of the Tent City development more than 30 years ago. Jamil Sabree posted photos of what was left:
My dad owns this place and I work here. We have remained open and available during this entire pandemic and have kept every employee employed. This business was destroyed and looted last night. Thank you for trying to defend my life by completely destroying my livelihood. Next time you decide to "protest" please realize that if #ICantWork then #ICantEat.
One loyal customer writes:
I've been a customer for years - decades, even. You couldn't meet a nicer man than Dr. Sabree, and his son started working there a few years ago, too. And, Edna, at the front desk! Few independent businesses are as hard to keep going as a eye exam place.
Jesse Kim set up a GoFundMe page to help Lien Tran, whose Bromfield Nails on Bromfield Street was looted:
When you see people of color wreaking havoc on other people of color in the name of equality, you have to just shake your head in disappointment. A family friend's nail salon was looted and completely destroyed inside and out after being closed for over three months. This wasn't some big corporation that could absorb this kind of hit; it's a little, old lady who invested her life savings into a small business and slaves away 7 days a week to grind out a living.
Video footage showed a group of young, people of color, kicking in the windows, flipping over everything, and taking everything they could carry.
It makes me wonder if these people realized that my friend's shop supports her children here, and her family in the old country? That she's had no income in months but is still paying her rent for her home, her business, her bills, childrens' tuition, etc.? What's ruining someone's life got to do with promoting equality or pointing out abuses of power?
Also looted: Giorgiana's, a market on Tremont Street in the South End, whose owner posted photos and added:
No fatalities!! So lucky it happened after hours - I need my employees to be safe !!! We will all get through this and take back our beloved neighborhood!!
Also hit: The Urban Grape, on Columbus Avenue in the South End:
This is a hard morning on a lot of levels. What we are impressing upon our kids is that windows are not lives. Dreams deferred cause rage. Our window is broken but the roots of this are in 400 years of knees on necks. But we would be lying if we said this doesn’t hurt, and if we didn’t acknowledge that this is especially layered for TJ. We’ve gotten through the last 11 weeks, and we will get thru this. We will also open later today, so UG fam don’t leave us now.
Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!
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Comments
This is a very important post
By anon
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 9:50am
This is a very important post and I commend you for writing it. The CVS and Target’s of the world will be fine. But these small businesses (and especially minority owned business) should be completely hands off.
How about we just like
By Anon 2
Wed, 06/03/2020 - 9:28am
How about we just like totally not destroy anything. Those big stores employ black and brown people too. Those clothing stores and jewelry stores are employed by commission sales people, many are people of color and now just around the time they were supposed to go back in it is all shut down. They already missed prom season and now wedding season is upon us and while there may not be big weddings , people still want to look nice and buy rings etc. Guess who will not be getting those dollars!
For those who say, but they will get unemployment! Keep in mind their income quarters may be low because the big season for them often is the spring into the summer. So the averages may be lower than they normally would be.
So in closing. Don't destroy anything.
Because they'll be fine, they can be looted?
By Rozzident
Wed, 06/03/2020 - 10:45am
Look, I'm no fan of CVS or Target, but you know what I do? I don't shop there. Well..not entirely true, as I have made 2 or 3 purchases at both places out of convenience in the last year..but whenever possible, I try to support local, small business. Marching around and saying this or that does not add up to change as much as your dollars do.
Your post seems to indicate you feel it's okay to loot CVS and Target because they'll be fine. I find that position to be reprehensible in terms of personal accountability. We should all strive to be decent individuals. If you don't like CVS and Target, please stop supporting them! Tell others to stop supporting them! Looting just promotes more racism.
People defending this
By Alex Sm
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 9:51am
People defending this destruction by saying it's not as bad as black men being killed by police - of course it's not. It absolutely is not. And if you care more about the property than the people, you're part of the problem. But this destruction is also unnecessary and destructive to the very community that needs our support right now. This isn't a binary choice between black lives matter and small business support. Do both.
Some thoughts
By cden4
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 10:29am
For the people who looted simply because they could: this should be condemned.
For the people who looted because they are angry about continued oppression and injustice: The pent up anger and frustration is totally understandable. I fear that these actions are doing more harm than good, though. I really do hope that we can find ways to redirect that anger into more productive ends.
It is very clear that both the businesses and the police did not fully anticipate this kind of destructive action after the protests. They expected a few troublemakers trying to provoke the police, but not hundreds of people breaking windows and looting businesses.
I really hope this does not happen again. People and businesses are already hurting because of Coronavirus. We need to all continue to work together to solve the issues of racial inequality and injustice. Most people in Boston, including our leaders, seem to be working to do that. Destroying our neighbors' property, while of course is for the most part recoverable, is still a destructive action. It distracts from the issue at hand and creates unnecessary hostility, turning some people off who should otherwise be working together towards a common goal.
for the most part recoverable?
By Skeptic
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 10:32am
"Destroying our neighbors' property, while of course is for the most part recoverable"
Like you (assuming), I assume you're speaking from years of experience?
Probably not.
You were doing so well with that comment too.
Better luck next time.
Local Retail Outlets See Unexepected Increase In Foot Traffic
By John Costello
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 10:10am
Rapid Foot Traffic.
So along with the closure for Covid-19, small business people get this.
People are complaining about small businesses taking cover last night in West Roxbury. If I saw what happened in Boston on Sunday night I would measure out that an ounce of prevention is worth an pound of cure. Hindsight is 20/20, but past is prologue.
As was seen in both Dorchester (Morrissey Liquors, Stores at South Bay) and in Grove Hall, neighborhood businesses were hit. It wasn't just Newbury Street and the Combat Zone that was damaged.
Providence Place Mall was liberated last night. Security was huge around the Natick Mall and there were threats to liberate that last night in the name of justice.
Stop making excuses for Anti-Social Behavior everyone. Protest - Great. Ensuring free and fair elections - Absolutely. Making police more accountable - Of Course. Getting rid of that ape in the White House - 100%. "Liberating" an Alex and Ani because you are mad - No so much.
Anarchy is a two way street. I am not looking forward to Y'all Qaeda's reaction to what is going on, but if things flare up further, maybe not around here, but other parts are the country might get a lot worse before they get better. The Target Stab Lady and the Archer of SLC are only the start.
Violence and looting is not
By Anon 2
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 10:09am
Violence and looting is not ok, no matter what.
Being a very very white person myself I will direct my lecture to other white people. When you destroy and encourage the destruction of property you are not doing it in solidarity. You are doing it because you want to smash stuff. You are doing it because it makes you feel important. You are making this about you and not about the issue at hand. Stop it, stop it right now.
When you destroy these stores and shops and properties who do you think works for these places, owns these places and who do you think is left to clean up your mess? When you go back to your suburban or white Boston enclave you leave all of this behind. If you live in Brookline and are smashing things up YOU ARE THE PROBLEM.
Apparently the 54th got spraypainted.
By dmcboston
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 1:48pm
Here's how you do it:
"Jon Jones from the UFC walking around his town snatching spray cans from rioters!! Nice work "
https://twitter.com/IndySpanglish/status/126744110...
Mob violence is hardly new in the US
By Daan
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 10:37am
All that is required are the right conditions. The past 3.5 years have added a lot of pressure to those conditions.
Rage is not focused; rage explodes like a bomb in all directions.
Try 11.5 years. The moron in
By Murkin
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 10:59am
Try 11.5 years. The moron in the White House now was elected because of the prior 8 years.
Yes it's Obama' fault.
By bulgingbuick
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 11:07am
He also knew about Japanese plans to attack Pearl Harbor and he did nothing.
Obama did not solve the
By anon
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 12:39pm
Obama did not solve the problem of police brutality and racism.
Though he did defuse the Henry Louis Gates incident.
Police regularly arrest people entering their own homes.
By bulgingbuick
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 1:26pm
Obama was way out of line by saying the Cambridge police acted stupidly. People that attempt to enter their homes should expect to be questioned and arrested. Probable cause is whatever you want it to be.
Obama did a good job there.
By dmcboston
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 1:45pm
Truth of the matter is that Cambridge police were called by a neighbor, we'll call her Karen (actually Lucia) who had, apparently [i] no idea[/i] what her Harvard professor neighbor looked like.
Also, truth of the matter, the cop handled it in a professional manner.
"According to the police report, Crowley arrived at the scene, went up to the front door, and asked Gates to step outside. Crowley explained he was investigating the report of a break-in in progress; as he did so, Gates opened the front door and said, "Why, because I'm a black man in America?"[1][12]
Crowley's report states that he believed Gates was lawfully in the residence, but that he was surprised and confused by Gates' behavior, which included a threat that Crowley did not know who he was "messing with." Crowley then asked Gates for a photo ID so as to verify he was the resident of the house; Gates initially refused, but then did supply his Harvard University identification card. Crowley wrote that Gates repeatedly shouted requests for his identification. Crowley then told Gates that he was leaving his residence and that if Gates wanted to continue discussing the matter, he would speak to him outside. Gates replied, "Yeah, I'll speak with your mama outside." On the 9-1-1 dispatcher audio recordings, a man's loud voice is heard in the background at several points during Sgt. Crowley's transmissions.[13]
Gates stepped onto his front porch and continued to yell at Crowley, accusing him of racial bias and saying he had not heard the last of him. Faced with this tumultuous behavior from Gates, even though he was still standing on his own front porch, Crowley warned Gates that he was becoming disorderly. When Gates ignored this warning and persisted in his behavior, and likewise ignored a second warning from Crowley, Crowley informed him that he was under arrest.[1] ''
I don't doubt that is exactly what happened.
By bulgingbuick
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 1:56pm
The forest is in the way of the trees.
So what I read in this
By eherot
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 3:53pm
So what I read in this comment is that a Harvard professor was arrested on his own porch for yelling at a cop after being accused of a crime that, by that time, the cop was already aware he did not commit. Do I have that right?
Right?
By fungwah
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 4:18pm
Like, I'm sure the cop didn't like being yelled at, but at that point he was aware that no crime had been committed, so why didn't he just leave?
Perhaps if he open carried and waived a Gadsen flag while
By bulgingbuick
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 4:22pm
screaming in the officers face, it would have de escalated the situation
Why is that on Obama?
By fungwah
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 2:36pm
None of the Presidents before him did that either. Heck, none of them even really tried (I'll give Lincoln, Grant, and LBJ partial credit, I guess).
Obama defused that? How do
By Rob
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 6:45pm
Obama defused that? How do you figure that?
He aggravated it - inserted himself in local law enforcement & governance (not to the degree that Brigadier Bonespurs wants to, of course), gave a minor incident much more bandwidth, admitted he didn't know about the situation, then in his next breath passed judgment, blaming the police (when any legitimate grievance Gates had (once you filter out typical colossal academic ego) was with the neighbor), then tried to be the peacemaker "bringing the parties together".
At least Biden brought beer.
Obama isn't allowed to express any blackness. It's not fair if
By bulgingbuick
Wed, 06/03/2020 - 7:59am
he gets to mention race. According to many on the right its racist to even mention race. He was elected and re-elected, so that makes all racism magically disappear.
The mistake he made was not continuing to call bullshit on the treatment of Gates and the Crowley was following the book nonsense.
Nah
By lbb
Wed, 06/03/2020 - 9:18am
Obama fucked up the Henry Louis Gates incident. He caved and kicked the can down the road.
Obama was on the Grassy Knoll
By anon
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 2:26pm
and he blew the call on the Ed Ambrister bunt.
Obama poisoned our water supply,
By fungwah
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 4:20pm
burned our crops and delivered a plague unto our houses!
Well, maybe he didn't...but are we just going to wait around until he does?!
America hasn't been the same since he killed
By bulgingbuick
Wed, 06/03/2020 - 9:27am
and ate lassie during Ramadan.
Oh ok but all the presidents
By Adam Pieniazek
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 12:24pm
Oh ok but all the presidents before Obama were great and didn't contribute to this county's decline? Try the hundreds of years of America repeatedly valuing profit over people is what led to our current confirmed fascist in the white house.
There are plenty of things to criticize about the Obama administration but he wasn't dropping heil Hitler salutes on the white house lawn nor was he born from a man who was arrested at a KKK rally.
Again, Obama did plenty wrong and there's books that can be written about all the ways he made America worse but it's not his fault America is filled with Trumpets.
funny enough
By berkleealum
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 12:30pm
this is correct, just not for the reasons you’re likely implying
Murkin
By APB
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 1:05pm
Is too young to remember any presidents before Obama. That's all.
Part of being an adult is
By anon
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 11:07am
Part of being an adult is controlling rage and not throwing tantrums like a child.
That's part of the criticism towards President Trump and it applies equally to the looters taking advantage of legit protests to excuse being immoral miscreants.
Destroying small minority owned businesses already disproportionately hurting from the plague isn't helping the community.
Laced
By anon
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 10:56am
A shoe store was also looted.
A lot of stores were
By adamg
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 1:08pm
Like the jeweler across from Old City Hall.
Jewelry Store
By anon
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 1:40pm
That jewelry store across from Old City Hall has had it's share of trouble. Wasn't it reported here a few years ago that an elderly woman working there was terrorized by a band of juvenile miscreants in broad daylight?
Worth pointing out that much
By anon
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 11:04am
Worth pointing out that much of the looting in the South End, including Urban Grape and Giorgiana's happened around 2:30am according to the owners security footage and statements. Both reported a sledge hammer was used to break the windows so this is likely the same people who broke into both.
I live about a block from the Copley mall entrance that was looted. Most of the cars and foot traffic of looters had died down around 1am when the police moved in. This seems like less of a case that passing by looters took advantage of the situation and more like someone used he chaos as an opportunity to coordinate a break-in of multiple businesses an hour and a half after most looters left the area.
I only point this out because I find it extra evil to come back hours after the looting stopped to break into small neighborhood and minority owned businesses. You can almost, almost, dismiss the looting as frustration and a getting caught up in the moment. But people that went and got cars, and the people that came back later to rob small businesses are the lowest of the low.
Ya, I saw that.
By dmcboston
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 1:31pm
The cops were moving in maybe 1 AM or so. I figured game over so stopped watching.
Globe has a list of places looted. https://www.boston.com/news/local-news-2/2020/06/0...
and a map:
[img]https://i.imgur.com/d1qGTWK.jpg[/img]
Look, it's a shame that some
By ZachAndTired
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 11:13am
Look, it's a shame that some mom and pop businesses were impacted (not so worried about Marshall's and Walgreens; they'll be fine). But people are fed up. This is what happens when decades of public outrage doesn't lead to any meaningful change and police continue to systematically murder black people with impunity. People's rage begins to boil over and actions become more extreme, because they've figured out that standing in the Common with a clever sign for an hour doesn't actually change anything. For anybody who is more outraged by the property destruction of some protesters than by what people are protesting against, maybe you're not actually on the side that you think you are.
Disagree
By Disagree
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 11:19am
With respect to rioting and looting, two wrongs don’t make a right. Ever. What is and has long happened to the African American community is shameful and change needs to happen yesterday, but no one gets a pass for the violence that’s occuring.
Police do.
By BBW
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 3:12pm
Police do.
Or Not
By Anon
Wed, 06/03/2020 - 12:01am
If you think the police get a free pass, talk to the Boston officers who are in the hospital because rioters took out aggression on them for something that bad officers (who are currently locked up) in Minneapolis did.
You can’t paint everyone with the same brush - isn’t that essentially what all of this is about anyway?
Shame
By BostonDog
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 12:39pm
A good portion of the looting and destruction on Sunday night was caused by people who were interested causing mayhem for various reasons unrelated to black civil rights.
I have no sympathy for these people.
I have no sympathy for these
By ZachAndTired
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 11:34am
Yeah, no shit.
this isn’t a controversial
By berkleealum
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 12:31pm
this isn’t a controversial comment
Naivety
By anon
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 11:41am
If you honestly think the looting had to do with people's "rage" you are naive. The looters were opportunists pure and simple. They had no political agenda beyond walking around today wearing that merchandise. Or selling it.
Well, it is possible that
By Rob
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 6:49pm
Well, it is possible that there is a political agenda for some. Some might want to stir **** up and keep us all in these stupid cycles of violence and recrimination instead of actually improving the human environment.
2 cops shot in Vegas. One
By DPM
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 1:40pm
2 cops shot in Vegas. One dead. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/las-vegas-police-offi...
Cops run over in Buffalo NY https://buffalonews.com/2020/06/01/violence-escala...
Looter killed in Philly https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/south-p...
Cops run over in NYC https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-...
The cop that pulled a gun in NYC that the mayor condemned? Was defending his fellow officer. https://twitter.com/NYCPBA/status/1267559551865442305
ANOTHER cop run over in nyc https://twitter.com/MylesMill/status/1267714017654...
Looter dead from his own IED? https://kywnewsradio.radio.com/articles/news/polic...
Looter dead https://www.transportationnation.com/st-louis-prot...
Looter dead https://www.startribune.com/man-shot-dead-outside-...
A federal security officer dead https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/22-arr...
Looter attacks cop https://www.reddit.com/r/nyc/comments/guztgf/bronx...
There was another looter killed in an apparently justified self dense shooting that I now cannot find. 2 days ago? Also saw 4 cops shot in Louisiana now cannot find it, so perhaps I misread.
Property crime? Its easy to dismiss rioting when it happens in other cities.
A shame if your house burned because of the fire set next door
By Nowy Liberté
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 7:06pm
I don't believe the posts that I'm reading
I know you love Kennedy's and hate Trump -- fine that is your prerogative
But this is our [your, mine and everyone else's] country which is being attacked by people whose stated goals is the total destruction of society -- you can go to their website and look for yourself
These kinds of nihilist views are not new -- they've been around for many many centuries. Most of the time they smolder in the deep dark recesses -- with an occasional outburst
Every once and a while the smoldering embers of hate for all -- suddenly burst into flame. Thanks to the industrial revolution's ability to mass produce things like AK-47s and radio receivers --- the middle of the 20th Century and on was a particularly bad period of this kind of mental conflagration. And the 21st has started out even worse because of the 2nd & 3rd industrial revolutions' ability to mass produce Cellphones and Social Media.
But just go back a few hundred years and many thousands perished because the egalitarian ideals of the French Revolution turned into the Guillotine and the Terror.
Or consider the Millions who died during the early 20th C because some small bunch thought that the Czar or the Emperor was oppressive. Later a small bunch convinced some others that the previous Communist government in Cambodia wasn't radical enough, or that Communist China wasn't Red enough! or that Islam was pure enough -- and well anyway everybody but us has to die to purify things.
Well --0 -- it looks like the minor flair-up which happened with the SDS and such in the 1960's and 1970's continued to spread while still smoldering inside the walls for a generation [e.g. Bill Ayers, etc.]. Today they call themselves Occupy something, or Antifa -- but they are the same -- Hate Everyone except us -- and as we've seen countless times -- if these groups get into power -- the first thing that they do is to start settling their own pecking-order using the AK-47 as the tool.
There is really only one way for this to end well for us here in Greater Boston, New England, the USA -- Everyone should put aside the political and other "tribal" differences to denounce and enforce the rejection of nihilists and their anti-everyone not just not just AntiFa.
Perhaps we should take some lessons from Detroit -- which you might note: that despite a history of violence, burning and looting -- has not had the looting and burning this time.
Apparently AntiFa was told in no uncertain terms by the people of Detroit -- Go Home! -- if there is to be any burning, shooting or looting -- the people of Detroit will do it for themselves -- to paraphrase the Treasure of the Sierra Madre -- "We don Need no steenkeen FA"
Or maybe we should adopt the approach of South Philly where the local community rose-up and surrounded the entrances to the local Target to keep the Fa away
A large portion of blame
By Refugee
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 11:33am
A large portion of blame falls on the Mayor. He should have declared a hard curfew beginning Wednesday or Thursday last week, when disorder was starting to spread through big cities. That's what you do when there's a great injustice and you are concerned how people might react and erupt. You keep people at home and off the streets. It's not too different from a declaring a snow emergency.
yeah i guess
By berkleealum
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 12:32pm
if snow had a constitutionally protected right to gather in the streets
No
By anon
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 12:55pm
All the responsibility for the riots belongs to the idiots who threw rocks, broke windows and rampaged. I hope they are tried & convicted.
The peaceful protestors concerned about George Floyd didn't loot convenience stores or burn cop cars. (Which we pay for)
What a backwards way to think
By fungwah
Tue, 06/02/2020 - 2:46pm
"The way to stop riots about police overreach is to make the act of being outdoors illegal and get the police to enforce it!"
Worked out great for these people on their front porch in Minnesota. Or these people who had to shelter overnight with strangers in DC.
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