This is a post in response to @atamme’s question, “Does the use of force by government bans make people want to rebel more?”
I believe that practically any time rules (especially arbitrary ones) are put in place it makes people want to rebel more. We have all heard about a teenager with extremely protective parents, who eventually gets into a lot of trouble. Adolescents will be more honest and open with their parents when there is a sense of trust and equality. However, when a young person feels as though they are tied down and heavily restricted, they are more likely to break rules in order to have fun. This leads to sneaking out, lying, hanging out with bad people, and being disrespectful.
We can see a direct correlation between government forces making people want to rebel and speak out. On March 13, 2020, Louisville police officers raided Breonna Taylor's apartment and killed her by gunfire. On May 25, 2020, after buying cigarettes with a counterfeit twenty-dollar bill George Floyd was strangled to death by Minneapolis Police Officer, Derek Chauvin. These are just two examples of unprovoked murders of African Americans, but there are countless others. On the evening of Breonna Taylor's death, police fired tear gas and dressed in their riot gear. This was met with protestors in the area destroying local property and starting fires in the streets. Over the next few months, over fifteen million people across the United States participated in Black Lives Matter protests. In Early June of 2020, over two hundred cities had imposed mandatory curfews and sent out 96,000 National Guard, State Guard, 82nd Airborne, and 3rd Infantry Regiment service. Unbelievably, this was the largest deployment of military personnel in the United States (other than during the war). Individuals in opposition to the unjust treatment of African Americans in the United States collectively caused one to two billion dollars in damage. All because of the use of unwarranted prejudices against people of color.
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