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| George Floyd |
However, we remember the aftermath. The aftermath in most cases affects us directly. The deaths of these men only affects us directly if we knew them, if they were family or if they lived in our neighborhoods. Indirectly, it affects us because of the mayhem that often follows.
Sit-ins, pray-ins, marches all start out peacefully until miscreants and the scum of the earth crawl out from under their rocks and start pushing police, throwing objects, starting fires and inciting riots. In my not so humble opinion, every form of demonstration is meaningless. Candlelit vigils solve nothing. Protests most of the times lead to violence and more death and destruction. The results are a two minute story on the nightly news. Even the marches that turn into riots get coverage for a couple of hours with occasional Breaking News updates thereafter. The reason for the demonstration starts to get pushed down and forgotten to be replaced by the fireball of a news story about the violence, looting and destruction. The map below shows the outcome of the weekend. Riots, unrest and the National Guard being called in.
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| Weiyi Cai, Juliette Love, Jugal K. Patel and Yuliya |
Let's think about Mr. George Floyd. Everything we heard about him has not been much. His back story has been sparse. What we know is that he was a peaceful, community minded man, who posted a video about not using guns to solve issues. He worked security at a club. The same club that Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin was employed when off-duty. Coincidence? No, I don't believe in coincidence. Was there something nefarious about this incident? Yes, I believe there was. Was this something that was planned? Maybe. Was there a vendetta or a reason Chauvin targeted this man? I believe he may have had issues with Floyd. This will come out sometime in the future, I hope. It's funny how the supposed $20 counterfeit bill has never been produced. It's odd that not one news agency interviewed the store keeper or clerk concerning the bad paper. It all just plain stinks of scandal.
There's more to this other than another white cop on black civilian crime. It's being perceived as a racist incident. It is but it may be more than that. No reason will excuse this officer's actions. He should have been removed from his job ages ago. There has been a history of complaints against him. How many chances do you give a person before you finally say,"That's enough!"? When you find that the man does not represent the organization as it should be, he's got to go. Should he be held for first degree murder? Maybe. Evidence of premeditation, if he specifically targeted Floyd with the intent to murder, will be hard to prove.
As for the peaceful demonstration, it turned into a battlefield with injuries on both sides, arrests and property theft and destruction not seen since the late 1960s. I grew up during those times. I remember the nightly news and the newspaper front page coverage cramming it down our throats. It was horrific to see cities being looted and burned out. After a few days, it all went away. Life went back to the way it was and nothing changed. It was as if nothing ever happened and no reason why it happened.
True change is not going to happen with protests, "something-ins", marches or rioting, looting or retaliation. These activities garner no support for any cause. It will only give the "Powers" fodder that supports their opinion that there is no helping "These" people. Apathy is a huge weapon against change. If it doesn't affect me, why should I care? However, I witnessed many more white faces among the crowd of protesters than I have ever before. This is a positive move in the direction of racial unity for the need for change. If we can cut out the bad element that uses this opportunity for mayhem, we would view this as a success.
Much of the issue is economics. The haves vs. the have nots! See below. The inequality based on race is not just pay scale as much as the opportunities. Blacks don't have as many opportunities for higher paying jobs. Some of that is on them. With more education and technical skills more African-Americans could pursue better paying jobs. Why don't they? I have no answer for that. Maybe it's the same reason why many don't vote. They're discouraged to the point of fearing for their lives. I don't know this for a fact, but it seems a very plausible reason. Being a white male still has more advantages than every other demographic. And this should not be. Everyone should have ample opportunity to better themselves and strive for the same jobs and fulfillment of their American Dream.
As a white man, I'm appalled how people of color have been treated. Growing up I knew only a few black people. Most of them were as well-to-do as I, living a middle class life in the suburbs. I'm thrilled when I see people of color in positions of authority like the Police Commissioner in Philadelphia, who is black and a woman (Danielle Outlaw) [Yes, that's her name.]. The mayors of Atlanta, Georgia (Keisha Bottoms), Chicago, Illinois (Lori Lightfoot), Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Sharon Weston Broome) and New Orleans, Louisiana (LaToya Cantrell) are all people of color and female. There are several non-whites in Congress. I was told we had a black president. How about that?? The more diversification and true representation we have in our governments, local on up to Federal, the closer we can come to a true homogenized melting pot. Something that America was proud to boast about. Today, I see little that we can boast about. I hang my head in despair.
Fifty years ago, I'm certain governmental diversity did not exist. It sort of did. There were 7 African-American congresspersons in 1969. One of them was a woman, my favorite, Shirley Chisholm (D) from New York, who was the first black woman elected to Congress and also ran for President in 1972. Times have changed. Today, there are more than 50 black men and women in Congress, but more change is required. Changes are still not anywhere close to what Abraham Lincoln imagined when he issued the Emancipation Proclamation or when the Thirteenth Amendment was passed after Lincoln's death. White America failed the freed slaves. They needed to give them something more. Something that was taken away from them with their involuntary servitude: Opportunity to make something of themselves. The chance to obtain the American Dream. Freedom was served up with empty hands.
Had the American government been a little more harsher in Reconstruction and given the freed slaves some land to do what they want with, things might have been different. If the Northern Armies had continued to occupy the southern states and guarded the Freed Slaves' freedom, there would have been no lynchings. Civil rights would have been established a hundred years sooner. However, our nineteenth century forefathers shit the bed. They let the South off easy and made no inroads for the African-American people. Thus, part of the mentality in the African American community has been the feeling of being left behind, left out and subjugated. Why bother to try to work within the system? It's easier to game it. We have not made it easy for people of color to advance their race. Thankfully, there are many who managed (as noted above) to rise above the hate and adversity to become the leaders this country so sorely needs to advance toward positive change for all.
In many cases in the 1960s and 1970s, attempts have been made to bring equality to the races. Those, who took advantage of what was offered, have become successful. Some chose to try to take from the system what was not theirs to take and where it was not earned. Be it laziness, apathy or hubris, a minority have chosen to be criminals. As was witnessed this past weekend, the peaceful demonstration demanding change in both policing and government treatment of all peoples turned into a free-for-all with looting and property destruction. It no longer was about justice for George Floyd. They only cared about what they could carry off. This is despicable behavior for any race. It also doesn't support their cause.
Unfortunately, white America is partially to blame. We have driven many of these people to take this sorry attitude. When a people feels neglected, unworthy or persecuted, they will revolt. If we want another American Revolution, we should stay this path. We are seeing the first steps towards that end. This is the worst civil unrest I've ever seen. I can't pick a side where I see someone is doing the right thing, because neither side is.
Trump thinks there's some mythical monster, Antifa, lurking in every doorway waiting to come out and dethrone Democracy. Not true. There are probably as many far right nut jobs as there are far left nut jobs. If Antifa was a powerhouse influence, we'd see them more often than we do. They wouldn't wait until something like George Floyd's murder to come out and start shit. There will always be times of high tension fraught with fragile emotions. Like now. If Antifa wants to wreck havoc, they'd do it like Isis did in Afghanistan. It was constant and persistent.
Every brown faced person imagines themselves in place of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice or John Crawford III. That's where the outrage begins. They think, "When is it going to be my turn?" It's a valid fear. Until things change with police mentality and government apathy, we are forever going to have these clashes. More lives will be lost. More unsettlement will occur and the American Way of living will die.
Everyone is screaming Black Lives Matter (#BLM). And just as many are screaming Blue Lives Matter (#thankublu). Others are asking why isn't anyone making a big stink about cops shooting white people? Because in most cases white cops shooting white people are justified. The unjustified killing does occur, but it's a lot rarer. I cannot remember ever seeing a black officer shooting or choking a white person to death. That's even rarer if it has ever occurred at all. Shooting or choking out of unarmed black men has become an almost weekly event. This shouldn't be. There can't possibly be that many unarmed black men who are so dangerous that they require this sort of treatment.
Something I've been saying for years is police need to have other means besides shooting or strangling a person. Police need to be retrained. There have to be safer, more efficient methods to arrest someone without a deadly incident. When they overstep the boundaries, they need to be punished and/or removed from their job and jailed. I'm not saying if the time comes where deadly force is needed to save lives including their own it should not be used. But it's clear from the phone video of George Floyd's arrest that excessive force was used and unnecessarily. The excessive force used that lead to Floyd's demise can be without a doubt be deemed illegal and criminal. Because of one white man, a shit storm in the middle of an already dangerous shit storm (Coronavirus) has erupted. Thank you former officer Chauvin. I hope you spend a long lifetime in prison while your soon-to-be ex-wife is out fahken someone else. See below. I think she'll do well on the singles market.
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| Kellie Chauvin |
I'm saddened most because many business owners, many who are minorities themselves that have put their whole life and savings into their businesses, may have lost everything. Why would these people loot one of their own? And I do see it as one of their own. An African American businessman is not Whitey-Keeping-You-Down. It's a man, woman or family serving their community, giving back, giving a community the opportunity to feel pride among themselves. How could these people not see this?
Sins of our Fathers. That's what has been happening. Most white people sympathize with the African American community. However, we, too, are powerless. We can't vote out police officers. We can't hold the Chief of Police or the head muckety muck accountable. We have no say. We have just our elected officials. We can't even get our elected leaders to step up and do the right thing. No matter whoever we elect; they constantly let us down. Things have been business as usual for over 200 years. This democracy experiment is crumbling from the inside out. This country was established by rich white men on the backs of the poor and enslaved. Not much has changed in 300 plus years.
True change can only occur when all men and women have evolved mentally, emotionally and intellectually. Until that happens, we will periodically have to deal with situations that blow up like this past weekend. Action needs to be taken, but not what happened in over 75 American cities this past weekend. The rest of the world looks at us and shakes their collective heads in disgust and dismay. l know I no longer want what America is offering. I'm ready for a change. Either me or this government/police state has got to go. New Zealand is looking better everyday, if they'll have me.
One last thought: I also feel for the mixed race people. They're half African-American and half White American. This must tear at their souls. Of course, I hope, they side with the correct side, equal treatment and rights for all people, black or white, but they are probably (I say this without any proof!) not wholly accepted by either group. There will always be a slight sense of suspicion toward other races. Thank you Founding Fathers! You rich white Fahks! You could have been better than all of Europe and Asia. But you chose to be the last to abolish slavery and treat all men and women equally. I hope you rot in your pathetic graves.
However, I accept the mixed races. I accept the brown skinned races. I accept the Asians of all nations even the ones that are warring against each other (China and India). I was popular when I lived and worked in Trenton, New Jersey among the Hispanic (Puerto Rican) women and blacks. I accept all people. I like having a diverse portfolio of friends and acquaintances. I judge people (and I do judge) based on their actions. If you do right by me and others, you gain my respect and admiration. You act like an asshat; you get nothing. Nada. Zilch. Nix. Zip. Nought. Bupkis. Fahkall! Mainly, I accept anyone who recognizes and accepts me for the person I am. A regular old white guy who is also a little bit needy. However, the Alt-Rights, the Neo-Nazis, the Trumpees and Donald Trump and his cronyistic Republican Kowtows need not apply. You've been weighed. You've been measured and you've been found wanting. You may now walk on. You will not be accepted here. No admittance. YOU. ARE. NOT. WORTHY!
I want more than anything (besides hundreds of subscribers to my Blog) for all people to get together and love one another. I'm not talking about a 7.6 billion person love-in. I was never a hippy in the Sixties. However, I support some of their philosophy. I'm talking mutual respect for all cultures, genders and income levels. May we all be rich someday and receive what we truly deserve.
Until next time, keep the fallen in mind. Stay home. Stay safe. And if you have to protest, wear a mask, protest peacefully then go sit quietly alone on the grass and become one with nature and Mother Earth. Namaste and Cheers! TTFN!
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