CURRENT EVENTS
What Happened to George Floyd?
How the media narrative made matters worse
In cities across the United States, the justice buildings are burning. Police cars in downtown streets have been set ablaze, their charred frames seared black in stark contrast to bright flame and smoke trailing its dark entrails up into the sky. The scenes pouring in via social media of protests turned into riots and lines of police geared up like soldiers facing off against citizens armed only with posterboards and their fists raised up in solidarity, send a definitive message of a nation at war with itself, a nation that is on the verge of either revolt or collapse or maybe both.
The death of George Floyd on May 25th is unquestionably a tragedy, one that most likely didn’t have to happen, and could have been prevented if aspects of the incident had been handled differently. However, the way this event has been portrayed to the public, potentially incited outrage before all of the facts could be objectively established. What unfolded from it is a startling reminder of the dangers of emotionally triggering content being shown to a populace already pushed to its limits with stress. This article is not a defense of the police or some form of rationalization of the events the entire world has now seen. It is a reminder of the importance of language…
