Brutal Choking Death Again Caught On Tape
There have been police shootings and physical force used to brutalize African Americans in the past and this time the slow horrifying choking death of George Floyd was caught on cell phones that has just sickened a nation. The four police officers involved have been fired and the Minnesota and Federal Bureaus of Investigation have started a probe into the death. For reasons unknown there has been a wave of racial vitriol lately that has again brought America’s national shame into every household. The response in Minneapolis, MN has been to protest and sadly loot and burn down the area surrounding the police precinct. Will we find answers in the ashes and ruins?
In one of the most vile scenes in the history of police brutality a police officer with a history of violence placed his knee on the back of Floyd’s neck who was being arrested for forgery and despite claims he resisted arrest video evidence did not support that claim. Floyd asked the most physically offensive officer Derek Chauvin to let him up for ten minutes. More accurately he begged for his life as onlookers asked Chauvin and the others to stop brutalizing Floyd. Their pleas were met by callous disregard for their requests for mercy. Chauvin just calmly placed his hands in his pockets as life slowly and cruelly left Floyd’s handcuffed body.
One of the reasons the officers in Minneapolis are still officers after shooting citizens is a special arrangement where officers receive legal advocates that lead the officers back onto the force. The police force has officers who don’t fear reprisals or even loss of the job. This is not a secret to people of color living in Minneapolis. Trust is hard to find and apparently, it’s a short trip to blind rage it seems.
At Eagle press time one of the officers has been charged.
Watching, there were two groups; one was protesting, and the others were looting and setting fire to area businesses. If history is any indication, much of America will focus on the criminal behavior.
For sure, there was a crime committed by the police officers and the courts will determine what their fate is. What will be learned from this? Sadly, this may turn into an exercise in attacking racism with hatred. If that is the sole goal, then nothing will be learned.
All Americans are keenly aware that men like Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd lost their lives for no other reason than they were black. It is easy to see why people would feel rage at the way people of color are mistreated.
America must deal with how we police, because its not working. The drug laws are unfair, the sentencing laws are not working. Bigger guns, larger prisons, and tougher laws are having the opposite effect of being a deterrent to crime. Hate crime laws are no better because that is institutional hatred for racists. Has hatred and revenge solved any problem? Can overt hatred drive out hate?
The United States has a major problem on its hands. This will take our best minds and will require a large investment in finding answers. God be with the Floyd family and with America.
Spate Of People Blaming African Americans For False Crime
There are enough real crimes in the world, and it is now clear there are non-black people in this world who are attempting to cover their own bad behavior by falsely placing the blame on black citizens. Before the advent of cell phones, disputed police reports were a case of trying to determine who to believe. Too often it ended up siding with the system believing the word of law enforcement over citizens, especially the perspective of people of color. With everyone now armed with cell phones capable of bouncing signals off a satellite to a curious world instantly, the truth has become something much different.
Now there are obvious demonstrations of police brutality caught on film. While cases like Rodney King was obviously a case of the system at the time was incapable of acting on the truth as captured on the disturbing video. That film was the work of a portable camera which were relatively rare for the day. Now, everyone has a cell phone and scenes of police interactions and body cams are capturing graphic and disturbing actions by some policemen. It may seem like police misconduct is rising, it is more of a case it is being captured on camera.
What seems to be happening with more frequency are white people in commission of their own missteps blaming people of color to cover up their acts. That was a disturbing sentence to type and worse to witness. Last week a Florida youth pastor claimed he was kidnapped by black men to avoid admitting why he was in a hotel room. He was there to hook up with a male prostitute. However, he was perfectly comfortable with a pair of black men being arrested and sent to prison. Also last week, a white Florida mother claimed 2 black men abducted her autistic son. She has since been arrested in charged with murdering her son by drowning him in a nearby Florida canal.
Then there is the ridiculous episode of a white woman who was upset with a black man who had the nerve to ask her to put her dog on a leash. While on tape the irate woman told him “I’m going to tell them there’s an African American man threatening my life.” She has since lost her job and the recently purchased dog removed from her possession. She has claimed the incident has ruined her life. The man she tried to have arrested has risen to her defense against those calling and making death threats. She has also asked for forgiveness. The man she wanted to suffer for being a black man telling a white woman what to do said he would forgive her if she was sincere and would in the future put her dog on a leash.
In Iowa, an incident that could have used cell phone documentation occurred when DarQuan Jones suffered a broken arm, a broken nose and five broken bones in his face after he was attacked by two white men. One of the men used racial slurs during the attack. Haven’t heard of this story? It wasn’t caught on a cell phone camera. These are the days we live in.
