Do these people not know how to read a room?
There’s an epidemic spreading on social media and that’s influencers using protests and aftermaths of said protests as backdrops for their tacky social media posts. According to the Instagram account @InfluencersInTheWild, a submission from Santa Monica, California shows a ca young man and woman jumping for joy, like some kind of dystopian mentos commercial, with dozens of Humvees, National Guard members, and other military vehicles parked in the background.
Check out the unbelievably tacky moment captured for clout below.
To thwart further looting and keep protests at bay earlier this week, Santa Monica’s mayor and police chief allowed the National Guard to be stationed at key locations. These pre-emptive calls to action all stem from looters and rioters taking advantage of peaceful protests that stemmed from the death of George Floyd and encompassed the larger Black Lives Matter movement.
In the short video we can see the juxtaposition of beach goers and tourists enjoying an afternoon stroll with a plastic K-rail separating them from at least two Humvees, one of them with a 50-caliber gun up top. I wouldn’t be surprised if that Humvee had ammo at the ready if “things went down.”
The Humvees are clearly parked as a show of force and intimidation against any sizeable groups even considering organizing to loot local businesses.
Here’s that location on Goole Maps.
As mentioned, the inability of these two people to read the room, that these times and protests are not to be taken lightly, is non-existent. There’s a time and a place to take funny Instagram photos and in front of National Guard members is not that time.
As @AMBSoccer84 put it in the comments,
This needs to be shamed on a bigger platform. Flexing in places of pain is just as bad as the rioters. You’re mocking the pain and very purpose we are out here.
Fortunately (or unfortunately however you see it) commenters have not identified who these individuals are.
The next time you’re in a protest area get your cameras ready, not to take a sweet selfie but to capture any injustices happening, including influencers getting the perfect photo and video for clout.
