The murder of George Floyd

By MAYA NAKKOUL
Opinions Editor

The last few days have left the world flipped upside down, and that says a lot in the middle of a global pandemic. I write this as I try to find ways to emotionally process all that has happened, as a way to stomach it, and as a way to mourn, something Americans across the country are struggling to do.

On May 25, 2020, Minneapolis man George Floyd, 46, was killed. He was handcuffed and pinned to the ground by a white police officer’s knee while three other officers watched. The officers were identified as Derek Chauvin along with Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng. Floyd was said to have been “in police custody” according to the Minneapolis Police Department. He was said to have displayed “medical distress” but the fact of the matter is that Floyd’s last words were “I can’t breathe” and the reason why was clear. As shown in a video taken by a bystander, Chauvin continued to pin down the body even after Floyd became silent and motionless.

On Saturday, May 30, Chauvin was charged with third degree murder which has a sentence of up to 25 years, a fine of up to $40,000 or both. Neither of which amount to the value of a human life. The three other officers present have not been charged but it is crucial that they do be. Chauvin did not act alone.

In the nights following Floyd’s death, protests have taken place. Such protests have spread nationwide, all of which advocate for the end of police brutality. In Minneapolis specifically, however, protests turned to lootings and riots upon police firing rubber bullets and releasing tear gas on protestors. Videos of a Target store and other retail stores being looted and destroyed went viral along with photos and videos of homes and businesses being burned.

While many criticize the riots, Martin Luther King III said in a tweet “My father said, “A riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it America has failed to hear? … It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met.”

Even after this comment and other similar statements made on Twitter by King III, some still compare recent events to the actions of Martin Luther King Jr. saying that his way of peace was superior and should be recreated. But King Jr., despite all the peace, was still murdered by those who opposed him, so who’s to say one is any more effective than the other? Both have resulted in the unacceptable and unjustifiable silencing of African Americans.

Ruhel Islam, A Minneapolis restaurant owner, expressed his opinions as seen in a Facebook post by his daughter, Hafsa Islam. “As I am sitting next to my dad watching the news, I hear him say on the phone; ‘let my building burn, Justice needs to be served, put those officers in jail,’” read her post. “Gandhi Mahal may have felt the flames last night, but our firey drive to help protect and stand with our community will never die! Peace be with everyone. #JusticeforGeorgeFloyd #BLM.”

However, other small business owners who have been affected by the riots are confused and upset by the fact that, though this is a cause in which rage is understandable, businesses had to be brought into the mix.

President Donald Trump has called these protestors “THUGS” in a tweet and supported the idea of calling upon the military so that “when the looting starts the shooting starts.” That statement alone places the value of material goods on a higher level than the lives of citizens. Meanwhile, protesters with firearms who advocate for their “right” to a haircut and massages are called ”very good people” who “want their lives back again, safely!” Not all lives are not treated as equals, because while white citizens want their lives “back”, people of color are having their lives taken in the most permanent way.

The harsh reality is that we currently live in a world where, when a white man brings a firearm into his school and kills multiple individuals, he gets escorted out in a bulletproof vest which was provided to him by authorities; but when an unarmed black man gets pulled over, he fears for, and often loses, his life.

There is no doubt: any rational person would have preferred a peaceful resolution to the problems that arose from the racial prejudices against Black individuals but the truth of the matter is that peaceful calls fell onto deaf ears. No change was made and, while I cannot say for certain what the most effective strategy is, this is not a scenario in which we can afford to resist change. This feeling of loss and of mourning should not be normalized and neither should the “thug” narrative pushed onto African Americans.

Action must be taken for George Floyd, Trayvon Martin, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tamir Rice, Oscar Grant, Eric Garner, Philando Castile, Samuel Dubose, Sandra Bland, Walter Scott, Terrence Crutcher, and for every other person of color who has been unjustifiably profiled as a “threat.”

White people have constantly taken for granted what it means to interact calmly with an officer, go for a run or a walk, or just make it home and it cannot carry on.

In 2014 Eric Garner cried out 11 times “ I can’t breathe” while held in a chokehold. Now, six years later, those words will unfairly haunt another family and take another life.

“I can’t breathe.”