TW: This blog post will be dealing with issues of racism, murder, and discrimination. Available public resources will be linked at the end for those who may need support or help.
Today marks the day where 3 white men were found guilty of the murder of Ahmaud Arbery. This verdict has been a long time coming and many didn’t believe this day would ever come. This case was coined as modern-day lynching and further highlights the deep and troubling systemic racism that runs through the United States. More broadly though, this case speaks to a greater issue of race and discrimination across the globe and is just the beginning.
If we think back to week one of this course, we were asked how did the murder of George Floyd demonstrate globalization? I am now here to expand on the questions we posed during that week. We were left wondering how our global community is able to enact change by coming together? How can globalization create positive change? What does it mean to be a global citizen?
I think it is safe to say that seeing the world come together and protest in light of George Floyd’s murder illustrated the power of globalization and how disembodied globalization is intertwined with embodied globalization. By coming together globally, we engaged in a global conversation about racism and forced many states and governments to take notice. We tried to lobby for global change.
Ahmaud Arbery’s case furthers this notion because it is once again speaking truth to power and getting justice for not only the victims but setting a precedent of how future cases should be handled legally. What I think this will result in is hopefully force more nations and levels of government to take notice and apply the law similarly to such cases in order to actually serve justice to everyone. As a citizen with the privilege of being on social media, donating to causes, having a voice because of the resources I have, these times have made me recognize my privilege and be more grateful for being able to be a global citizen. This also highlights the importance of representation in the global community and the fact that without representation or all equal opportunities to be a part of this community, we are also inciting another form of violence by shutting them out and dehumanizing their existence.
As such, Ahmaud Arbery’s case gives me more hope for rightful justice in the future, but this will only continue when we can create a more inclusive global community for our global citizens to engage with!
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