George Floyd isn’t a Martyr or Hero — That’s Not The Point.
The very definition of ‘martyr’ is a person who is killed because of their religious or other beliefs.
A martyr would be the disciples of Jesus who would profess the faith and truth of Christianity when Jewish law reigned supreme and Jesus’ followers were willing to die for their faith and truth.
Or the hijackers of 9/11 who believed in their faith and believed they would die, go to heaven and meet 72 virgins, and doing so would please Allah so they ran planes into the Pentagon, Twin Towers, and PA field to kill and be killed fighting ‘the west’.
Or kamikaze fighters in Japan in WWII.
And since this is mainly about racism, a martyr by the name of John Brown. An American abolitionist who was hanged in defense of abolishing slavery, after he had killed supporters of slavery and led a rebellion.
George Floyd is no martyr. In fact, I don’t think he wanted to die for any reason at all.
The very definition of “hero” is a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.
A hero would be Jesus Christ — especially if you are a Christian as he is not only admired — He is the trinity and the center of our faith and life.
A hero would be Nelson Mandela as he gave his life to battling the and ending apartheid then becoming the South African president.
A hero would be Gandhi as he led a non-violent protest against the British in his fight for all Indians’ civil rights.
A hero is Maximus in Gladiator as he goes from leader to slave, survives, and fights for his slain wife and child against a wicked ruler.
George Floyd is no hero. In fact, I don’t think he stepped outside thinking he would be fighting crime and injustice.
So if a broken clock is correct twice per day, Candace Owens got it right.
George Floyd is no hero and no martyr. He never intended to be nor wanted to be, I’m sure.
In fact, it takes bravery and courage and putting yourself out there to save the world to be considered a hero and martyr.
But what Candace Owens got wrong and what millions of people still get wrong is this — heroism and martyrdom are *choices* people make.
This man didn’t have a choice when he had a knee on his neck for nearly 9 minutes as he cried for help, yelling “I can’t breathe, officer”, yelling out for his dead mother to help him, and ultimately be the victim of a modern-day lynching.
This is not a “liberal political agenda” as she puts it. It’s about human rights. It’s about racism and police brutality. It’s simply about a gang of people that don’t give a flying fuck, in large, about a group of people.
George would love to be alive right now. His daughter would sure love it.
The hero and martyr is no George Floyd — it’s the angry, hurting, heart-broken human race who are sick of seeing black men killed at the hand of brutal, inept police officers — on video, no less.
The hero and martyr want foundational and systemic changes that don’t play to the advantages of one group (generally) — white people and white men specifically.
No one is saying whether George Floyd was a great man or a not-so-great man.
Rap sheet or not, justifying in your mind that it’s “ok” is the very issue at hand.
ALL people mess up. Some more than others. Some larger than others. That is humanity.
The problem is when the person of color is deemed worse than the white person when they have equal wrongs.
George Floyd may not have been a saint and he is no martyr nor hero.
WHO he is didn’t change the world.
WHAT HAPPENED to him, HOW is happened to him, and WHY it happened to him is changing the world.
And Candace — she’s just another tap-dancer chasing the money.
And of course, she is loved by the white population — she is a black woman who panders to white people confirming their biases and prejudices and perhaps, their racism.
I get it and you should too, and know that the black population isn’t a monolith.
There are very successful black people who are lucky enough to have been born into the right family or adopted into one, that never really gets to see what the average black person goes through.
Or they’re mixed, like me, and grew up pretty much sheltered from a lot of this at a younger age and had a privileged life.
This isn’t about the n=1. This is about the majority. The overall group.
The very definition of ‘ignorance’ is a lack of knowledge or information.
“Ignorance is bliss” — this quote makes so much more sense the older I get.
When you know something isn’t right but don’t want to come out of your comfort of where you are, you turn a blind eye. The more information and knowledge you have on a topic then forces you to challenge your thoughts, biases, and ideals.
Now is not the time for ignorance.
Now is the time for education.
Education leads to knowledge and progress is made when we can use that knowledge for the betterment of everyone — specifically at this moment, black people.
No one is telling you or asking you to be a hero and martyr. What everyone needs to do is educate and see how for 400 years, there has been an oppressed people in America (and in Canada [whole other topic]) and see that the foundations of the country slaves built are still here this very day.
Now is not the time for ignorance and be wary of people who push ignorant agendas because you only know what you know and don’t know what you don’t know — so if you find yourself like “rah rah! Yea I knew it!”, you don’t know jack diddly about a damn thing.