The Murder of George Floyd Emphasizes the Harsh American Truth
A system that swore to protect its citizens has failed us.
“I was taught to respect authority. When I’m pulled over, I do what I’m told. If I’m asked a question, I answer. That’s what he should’ve done.”
This was one of the reactions I saw to the news of George Floyd’s murder. Like this tweet, I saw many others with a similar disregard for human life and a warped perception of patriotism.
The murder of George Floyd and numerous other incidents involving police brutality emphasize the reality of our country and the people that reside within it.
The Incident
Mr. Floyd was sitting inside of his navy blue SUV when two police officers walked towards his car. They talked to the passengers in the front and back seats for around two minutes before asking them to leave the vehicle and putting Mr. Floyd in handcuffs. He sat against a white wall as an officer stood over him, questioning him regarding the incident.
As Mr. Floyd sank to the floor, almost laying down on the concrete, the officer grabbed him by his arm and pulled him off the ground, pushing a clearly distraught Mr. Floyd towards another officer as they led him away from the incident site.
There is a moment of uncertainty in the surveillance, where certain events lead to the eventual scene of Mr. Floyd being pinned against the road by Officer Derek Chauvin. The Minneapolis police car tire dug into his skin as he was forced against it and pushed to the ground. Chauvin’s knee rested comfortably on Mr. Floyd’s neck as he pleaded in a strained voice, “Please! I can’t breathe! Please!” His neck was in immense pain as Chauvin held it in a brutal choke-hold. Mr. Floyd’s pained cries were ignored as three other officers watched.
“You got him down,” a bystander yelled. “Let him breathe at least, man.”
“My stomach hurts. Everything hurts. I need some water. Please, officer. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe.”
Mr. Floyd could only utter short sentences as Chauvin choked him. Once again, his words were ignored as the officer dug his knee into Mr. Floyd’s neck. His nose was bleeding. He was in agony.
His pleas grew softer. His eyes started to close. Chauvin’s knee was still on his neck.
“Check his pulse.”
His knee dug deeper.
“Check his pulse!”
Officer Tou Thao, who was blocking the scene, only pushed the bystanders back.
“Check his pulse! What are you doing? He’s not resisting arrest! Check his pulse!”
The officer, with his hands in his pockets, pushed the bystanders further back.
“Don’t do drugs then.”
This scene will be remembered far into the future: Officer Thao’s smug expression as he justified his colleague’s violence, the pedestrians pleading and fighting for Mr. Floyd’s life, and Chauvin, with his hand in his pocket, digging his knee deeper into an unconscious black man’s neck. He died moments later in a hospital.
The Response
His death was described as a “medical incident” by the officers handling the case. A medical incident.
It doesn’t take a humanitarian to see the deliberating issue in this situation, from the incident itself to the reactions that formed after it. For every black person that is murdered by the police, a longstanding crisis in the United States is rediscovered. This country is built upon a foundation of racism and self-indulgence.
I could go into the infinite data that shows the glaring disparity between the profiling, arrests, brutality, and overall mistreatment of black people compared to white people. However, the internet has a surplus of knowledge regarding this subject, and I can direct you to a video I created with my colleagues regarding institutionalized racism to hammer in this point. Instead, I want to understand the other perspective.
There’s a pattern of reactions towards the George Floyd incident and similar incidents. There are people who acknowledge that wrong has been done by law enforcement and that change is necessary. An ‘aversion’ for the police and white people is common in these reactions.
There are people who rarely acknowledge the incident itself and the fact that another black person has died after excessive force from law enforcement. They focus on the crime that took place and the idea that the police are just doing their job. A strong sense of patriotism and pride for the police force is typical for these people.
It’s only natural for these two groups to come together in heated arguments on sites such as Twitter or Facebook, where posts about incidents similar to George Floyd’s get publicized. When these arguments go down, frustration can manifest in harsh opinions regarding law enforcement and white people. Offense is usually taken and those who come from a Caucasian background defend their culture and country by declaring that their race is being generalized as monsters and racists. This is where #BlackLivesMatter and #AllLivesMatter clash.
The Issue
I want to get opinionated for a second in order to put this into perspective. When my grandmother passed away in July 2017, I was nothing short of devastated. My grandmother was a strong woman and I wish I got to spend more time with her before she passed. In that moment and moments after, my family and I mourned her death, prayed for her, and remembered her daily. Never in that situation did I say, “her life mattered, but so does mine.” I’m sure that in that situation, you would not say that either. Why? Because it’s insensitive. It’s disgusting and you would never speak that way about any human, especially not a family member.
Why is this any different?
A black person has been murdered by the police. Another black person. And another one. When a person’s life is taken away, it’s only natural to respond with compassion, empathy, and grief for a life that has been lost. What if that had been you, your family, or your friend? You would be devastated, and the family of the victim is definitely devastated.
But multiple lives have been taken away. Thousands of people have been forcefully taken away from the family that endlessly loved them. In a 2019 PNAS study conducted by Frank Edwards, Hedwig Lee, and Michael Esposito, it was found that:
“Black men are 2.5 times more likely to be killed by the police over their lifetime than white men. Black women are 1.4 times more likely to be killed by the police over their lifetime than white women.”
A pattern of murder exists and there is data to support this conclusion. In the situation of my grandmother’s passing, I would never dare to shift attention to another life, such as mine, just because I believed that I mattered. In this situation, where an entire race is being targeted and killed by a group of people legally sworn to protect them, would you dare to mention that your race matters, too?
Yes, your life matters. But refusing to acknowledge the long standing issue of police murder among the black community by claiming that all lives matter is nothing short of insensitive, disgusting, and racist. That’s you ignoring another life that has been taken away from a family. That’s you perpetuating the system of racial profiling among law enforcement. That’s you justifying the murder of an entire race of humans. That’s you contributing to a cycle of a pattern leading into black genocide.
“Okay, that’s a stretch,” you think.
No, it’s not. This is the problem that’s being faced by the black community. This is their perspective. This is why when you attempt to disregard their anger for seeing another black life lost, you are only encouraging law enforcement to continue their discriminatory attitude and brutality against black people.
“But, why should I feel guilty for being born white?” you may ask.
Guilt is not the appropriate response. Guilt is a feeling that would only exist if there is wrongdoing involved. No one should feel guilty for being born as they are. However, your pride for your race and passion for your country is not the appropriate response to a black man’s murder. In no circumstance should a human respond to the loss of a life with a defensive mindset. This is why reactions such as “He should have obeyed the law” or “You’re generalizing all white people” are disgusting.
As a fellow human being, I implore you to please set your pride aside and acknowledge the problem at hand. Black people are being punished for living comfortably in this country. They are being failed by a system that was never designed to protect them.
As a bystander to this crisis, acknowledging this is the least I can do. I encourage you to do the same.
