Silence is no longer an option
The fight for racial equity in the United States
“Please, I beg of you…Mama…I can’t breathe”. These were George Floyd’s last words as he lay dying, remembering his dead mother during his last moments, while Officer Derek Chauvin pressed down hard on Floyd’s neck with his knees and three other officers were bystanders looking on.
“My stomach hurts. My neck hurts. Everything hurts. I need some water or something, please. Please…” Floyd called out to witnesses, “They’re going to kill me, man,” and then to the officers, “Don’t kill me.”
Soon Floyd stopped moving just as people asked the officers to check his pulse multiple times.
Like many other young people across the country, I watched the video of Floyd’s brutal murder — shocked and horrified. I was beyond words. Chauvin had planted his knee over Floyd’s neck for a total of eight minutes, including two minutes and 53 seconds after he became unresponsive.
Yet another incident of police brutality — a common occurrence now in the United States.
I was stupefied and felt helpless because I remembered previous protests and agitations when similar murders had occurred.
Remember Eric Garner. His last words were the same — “I can’t breathe”. As he lay face down on the sidewalk during his 2014 arrest in New York, he had echoed this phrase 11 times before becoming unresponsive.
Remember Breonna Taylor, an EMT shot to death in her own apartment.
Remember Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old shot and killed on sight on his way home from the convenience store.
Nothing has changed. Can something change now?
These murders are now embedded into our national conscience and the subsequent mass protests at a national and international level highlight how our current society is fundamentally flawed when it comes to racial equity and justice. As I browsed through news articles online, checked my social media feeds, and listened to the coverage of news media channels of the protests, I began to wonder at the divisive polarization within our country when it came to issues of policing, justice, and the protests.
After the video of George Floyd’s death, I saw many people were outraged at the fact that a white police officer felt confident enough in his own standing to outright MURDER an African American man. There were protests on the street led by ordinary citizens — white, black, brown, young, and old. However, within my own Asian community, I never heard a peep or any call to action. Was it because culturally we like to avoid trouble and believe that as long as we are law-abiding, we will never get into trouble? Maybe, we have internalized the false self-image of being the model minority that we have become selfish and do not want to get involved? Anytime, we heard people say “Black Lives Matter” on television, someone invariably would claim that “All lives matter” and how tired they were of the victim card played by so many of the minorities, who were less successful in achieving the American Dream.
I could get very pessimistic and indulge in a blame game. But I realized that for many of us, it is just plain and simple ignorance of our own history in this country. Recently, I had watched a documentary “Asian Americans”, a five hour series on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) that traced the struggle early Asian settlers faced to find recognition in this country. What stood out to me was that during the Civil Rights movement in the 60s, it was primarily the Blacks who had fought for “people of color”. Asians (including Indian Americans) benefited from that fight which liberated all people of color from unjust laws based on race. It revealed to me that when we say “Black Lives Matter”, we do not mean “All Lives Don’t Matter”. We just highlight how Black lives are most in danger from the police in our country and how they face the brunt of systemic racism that has become integral to the social fabric of America. In effect, this attitude of “Whataboutism” never served anyone, except the oppressors. Interestingly, the term is associated with Soviet and Russian propaganda and refers to “attempts to discredit an opponent’s position by charging them with hypocrisy without directly refuting or disproving their argument.”
Some of the issues that sparked the most debate during the current crisis were:
The police and justice system
The justice system has deteriorated to the point that it has become socially acceptable for police officers to arrest, harm, and even kill civilians based on the color of their skin. Although not every cop does this, enough have gotten away with it in the past that we “need to change the system”. When a police officer is dealing with a suspect for a simple crime, their first instinct should not be to brutally beat or shoot the person. If that is what they do in self-defense against a defenseless man, they forfeit their right to be a police officer. An officer is in charge of maintaining order and keeping people safe, yet when a large portion of the population is terrified that they may not come back home to their family the next day because of the police, they have failed in their mission.
What can we do?
(i) Investigate all reports of police brutality: Often, officers do not turn on their body cameras and complaints against them are ignored or dismissed due to lack of evidence. And, all this happens while the officer enjoys paid administrative leave during the legal proceedings.
(ii) Review the training provided to officers: Self defense must be clearly defined and not used indiscriminately to justify corrupt or criminal behavior.
(iii) Review police funding and defund where required: Many police departments across the nation are equipped with military-grade weapons. The time has come to question if we even need to equip the police with guns against the people. In many countries like the United Kingdom and India, most regular cops “make do” with sticks or batons. So, civil society can be maintained without guns and no one is killed.
The legitimacy of the protests
George Floyd’s murder sparked protests across the nation and people flowed into the streets to use their voice and their civil rights to spark change. However, peaceful protests weren’t the only thing that occurred. Images of looters raiding businesses throughout the country in various cities flooded the media.
What divided public opinion was the violence and criminal activity that resulted in massive losses to the taxpayer’s money.
While many protesters were taking advantage of the situation and hiding under the “#blacklivesmatter” movement to loot for personal gain, most were peaceful agitators. What was striking was that though our own “dear leader” blamed the Antifa for the violence, there were numerous videos of White Supremacist groups disguised as looters raiding the shops and pillaging the streets to discredit the protests. The strategy was to shift the sympathy of the population against the protests and tarnish the reputation of the BLM movement so that people would overlook the real issue.
During one of the largest raids at the Scottsdale mall in Arizona, many Twitter users accused the famous and controversial YouTuber, Jake Paul, of being a part of the main group of looters. Reports indicate that he and his friends were capitalizing on people’s suffering while they trashed the property, though he denies personal responsibility. Such people are a blot on humanity, who take our nation’s struggle for racial equity and justice backward.
Furthermore, undercover cops have been exposed to attending peaceful rallies and instigating violence to give the protestors a bad reputation and deterring others from joining them. Many right-wing publications and news broadcasts have been purposely painting the protestors as violent and dangerous, even though there is evidence that the so-called officers brought in to quell the protests are often responsible.
The actions of our President
And, as if this was not enough, our own “dear leader” has been doing everything he can to silence the voices of the protestors. President Trump has threatened to send out the military against its own people, admonished the various state governors to “dominate” the protests, and put them down. He has violated our civil rights by ordering peaceful protestors to be shot, tear-gassed, and arrested for a simple photo opportunity.
On June 2, 2020, Trump traveled unannounced to a nearby Church so he could hold up a Bible and pose for a picture to show how magnificent America is. However, near that church, there was a peaceful protest occurring and on the order of Attorney General Barr, protestors were violently manhandled by members of the police force and national guards. These protestors didn’t even know that Trump would be arriving at the Church, yet they were assaulted for “endangering his safety.” In fact, we seem to be only a few signatures away from being put under Marshall Law.
By constantly fighting against the #blacklivesmatter movement for the past week and branding the protesters as terrorists, Trump is not only trying to pander to his base but is refusing to even acknowledge some of the fundamental problems surrounding race and inequality in America today. He is among the reasons that people are enraged and protests have sometimes become violent. In fact, the “bunker boy”, as he has been branded recently when he was forced to seek shelter in a bunker as the White House came under attack by the protestors, has done absolutely nothing to unite the nation behind a cause.
We must realize that we can no longer sit around and think “This is not my fight.” This is everyone’s fight, no matter your skin color. This isn’t a matter of “Black against White.” This is a matter of “Everyone against Racists.” Being silent now just furthers the injustice we face today. Now is the time to speak up. Use your voice. Fight for others. Fight for yourself.
As Martin Luther King Jr. said:
“There comes a time when silence is betrayal.”
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
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As a part of my fight for this movement, I have created an original artwork that you can buy as a poster, all profits from which will be 100% donated to BLM charities (Minnesota Freedom Fund, Floyd Family Fund).
Link to the listing on Etsy form where you can buy the poster:
(https://www.etsy.com/listing/804900094/justice-for-george)
Even if you can’t spare the money to donate or buy a poster, reposting this link will make a huge difference by generating support for the cause. If you would like to go even further to help support the protests, consider donating directly or search up other ways to help make a difference. Every small action counts in this fight for our basic human rights.
