In an opinion piece Tuesday, TIME Ideas contributor Darlena Cunha defended the rioting in Ferguson that left over 30 businesses looted or burned, arguing that, after all, “violent protests” are just “part of the American experience” and that peaceful protesting is “a luxury only available to those safely in mainstream culture.”

The violent protests in Ferguson, Mo., are part of the American experience. Peaceful protesting is a luxury only available to those safely in mainstream culture

When a police officer shoots a young, unarmed black man in the streets, then does not face indictment, anger in the community is inevitable. It’s what we do with that anger that counts. In such a case, is rioting so wrong?​

Riots, Cunha explained, are a “necessary part of the evolution of society,” and it is “privileged” hypocrisy to “dehumanize” the “change agents” involved in that evolution:

Riots are a necessary part of the evolution of society. Unfortunately, we do not live in a universal utopia where people have the basic human rights they deserve simply for existing, and until we get there, the legitimate frustration, sorrow and pain of the marginalized voices will boil over, spilling out into our streets. As “normal” citizens watch the events of Ferguson unfurl on their television screens and Twitter feeds, there is a lot of head shaking, finger pointing, and privileged explanation going on. We wish to seclude the incident and the people involved. To separate it from our history as a nation, to dehumanize the change agents because of their bad and sometimes violent decisions—because if we can separate the underlying racial tensions that clearly exist in our country from the looting and rioting of select individuals, we can continue to ignore the problem.​

Cunha is a Florida-based contributor to several publications including TIME and the Washington Post. Read the full article here.