George Floyd was murdered before our eyes. For over eight minutes he begged for his life but no matter. Mr. Floyd had the life squeezed out of him by a policeman who pressed his knee across Mr. Floyd's neck, choking the breath out of him.
Colored peoples have historically been & continue to suffer from racism that is deeply ingrained in our history. But change must come to America for it to live up to its ideals. Maybe, just maybe, we will now make real strides towards those ideals.
Once upon a time, fire fighters & EMS workers were routinely called "heroes". But with the pandemic upon us, the "hero" ranks have swelled to include doctors & nurses, cleaning staff, grocery store clerks, care givers, truck drivers, warehouse & food factory workers. And deservedly so.
But is George Floyd a "hero"? Was he a good person? Is that important? Would it make a difference if he wasn't really?
Do you want to know him better? I do. But, short of a speech from attorney Crump, the family lawyer, an emotional eulogy delivered by the Reverend Al Sharpton & short statements by a few family members, we don't know much about him. I don't even know the actual events surrounding Mr. Floyd's arrest. But would that change the narrative?
Into this void, stepped black conservative commentator Candace Owens who vlogged a rant about Mr. Floyd's past. @Kevin Rose (NYT Tech Columnist) tweeted that Ms. Owen's "video is at 58,000,000 views & is now the 'top-performing' Facebook post of the past week. It was also featured in a Daily Wire article [...] for another 300,000 views." (I can't verify these numbers.)
I've watched Ms. Owen's vlog. I'm deeply troubled by her vlog. While everyone should enjoy Freedom of Speech, what troubles me is that her narrative has gained so much traction when, in reality, it doesn't make any difference who Mr. George was. It's a red herring.
The real issue -- the only principle that should guide us here -- is how Mr. Floyd died at the hands of a policeman, an instrument of the state & what that represented.
I don't want to see this moment in history diluted or corrupted or perverted or disfigured by politics or some 'ism'.
Would it make a difference if George Floyd was a thief or high on meth? Would that make his murder less important? I don't think so but Ms. Owens' rant seems to be resonating with a large portion of our population if you can believe the count. And that's just unacceptable.
If you are not crystal clear-eyed about WHY what is happening in the streets & if the issue of racism is important to you, I strongly urge you watch Kerry Washington in the Netflix production of "American Son". It's all dialogue; something we desperately need in this country and it illustrates the depth of our problem.
No comments:
Post a Comment