Speaking up when the world stays silent
One man’s unexpected reaction to police brutality
A few days ago, I published a blog post about the relevance of mobile storytelling over the last week as protests and antiracist sentiments gripped the nation.
This discussion over civil rights, police brutality and Black Lives Matter rallies did not cease in the world of finance.
While the economy shifted in line with optimism about the coronavirus, many people around the world were glued to stories about the fight for racial equality.
One prominent Twitter user chose to focus his tweets mostly on changes in the market, but he would eventually comment on police brutality as he saw it appear on his feed.
Sven Henrich is the founder of Northman Trader, a firm that focuses on analyzing the market. He tweets several times a day about any changes he notices in stocks or overall trends. After watching the video of an elderly man get thrown to the ground by Buffalo police officers, he took to Twitter to express his disgust.
While his occupation requires him to use social media to keep the public informed about changes in the economy, he chose to divert from his normal routine. He denounced the police for their excessive use of force and uncaring attitude toward a man they injured, signaling that there is more to discuss than the economy recovering.
I’m particularly intrigued by this for a few reasons.
Last week was a great week for the United States economy. After unemployment numbers hit depression-level figures during the height of the coronavirus, people were finally beginning to return to work, and the market was responding well to this. While Henrich certainly contributed to the conversation surrounding the economy more than most other people in this niche, he deviated from his main points of discussion to address police brutality.
Another shocking part about his reaction is the fact that the finance industry as a whole has done a poor job responding to the Black Lives Matter movement. In a world where numbers are the only thing people really care to talk about, it appears as if many of the major banks and other investment firms chose to harp on the strengthening economy rather than immediately take a stance on racism and police brutality.
Watching a giant in the finance industry address a topic that many of his colleagues appeared to brush over was admirable.
These weeks of protests have been a hot topic. Many people have taken a stance, whether it was supporting the Black Lives Matter movement, or attempting to shut it down.
However, in an industry that chose to remain silent rather than take a position, Henrich took a different approach and spoke out. He used his massive Twitter following to discuss important world issues, despite the fact that his peers did not do the same.
