#GeorgeFloydMurder - As the Smoke Clears, Look for the Helpers
As it turns out I wasn’t the only person awakened at 4 am today by what I’ll call, for lack of a better term, “a disturbance in the force.”
Dozens of protests erupted around the country yesterday, triggered but not exclusively about, the death of George Floyd, who died handcuffed with a policeman’s knee to his neck face down on a street in Minneapolis.
The last thing I saw before unplugging last night was a warning from the local chapter of Standing Up for Racial Justice and SD Black Lives Matter, warning people not to respond to a call for a protest at the SDPD Headquarters.
Black Lives Matter didn’t call the demonstration, and local activists are assuming it is an attempt by right wing provocateurs to create a violent situation. (There will be online events locally)
I’m still chasing this one down; somebody did take the time to create an online invite.
Elsewhere, there was violence in Louisville Kentucky (7 people were inexplicably shot protesting the shooting of Breona Taylor as she slept during a botched raid), Denver Colorado (shots fired, angry white lady tried to run over a protester) and a full blown riot in Minneapolis following a news report where a prosecutor suggested there could be no charges.
UPDATE: Former Minneapolis Police Department officer Derek Chauvin has been taken into custody. Charges include third degree murder and manslaughter.
Little known facts:
There were, in fact, dozens of demonstrations in the Twin Cities area. Only one got coverage.
And the looting in the district surrounding the now-burned out police station was apparently (caught on video & identified by his ex-wife) started by a St. Paul Police Department undercover officer.
The victim and the police officer who killed him may have known each other, since they both worked part-time in a nearby restaurant.
The big stories on this morning’s news concerned Twitter putting a warning on a post by President Trump because it could be understood to be inciting violence and a CNN crew including a black journalist being arrested as they were on the air, while a nearby CNN crew led by a white reporter was unmolested.
Whatever.
The President’s a racist, and he’s looking to stir up fights to distract from the many acts of incompetence, neglect, and just plain meanness that are the hallmarks of his administration. And being a punk keeps his base fired up.
https://twitter.com/brianstelter/status/1266318219712872448?s=20
The arrest of a national cable reporter made for great visuals, and his network played it to the hilt. One phone call to the governor by the network president made everything mo’ better.
Here’s are some of our better selves:
Former President Barack Obama on Friday issued a call to address racial inequality in the wake of George Floyd’s death — just hours after President Donald Trump doubled down on his call to shoot looters in Minneapolis.
In a formal statement, Obama discussed the grief being felt within the black community over Floyd’s death, which came after a white police officer kept a knee on the back of his neck for several minutes even after he pleaded that he was having trouble breathing.
He then said that Floyd’s death was just part of the struggles faced by black Americans every day.
“We have to remember that for millions of Americans, being treated differently on account of race is tragically, painfully, maddeningly ‘normal’ — whether it’s while dealing with the health care system, or interacting with the criminal justice system, or jogging down the street, or just watching birds in a park,” he said.
Obama then declared that these problems “shouldn’t be ‘normal’ in 2020 America” and he issued a call to “work together to create a ‘new normal’ in which the legacy of bigotry and unequal treatment not longer infects our institutions and our hearts.”
Obama’s call to fight for racial justice came just hours after the Trump White House reposted Trump’s declaration that warned protesters in Minneapolis that “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.”
https://twitter.com/chrislongview/status/1266427819959242754?s=20
When Trump threatens violence and tries to pull us apart, remember this: presidents don't have to behave that way. They can show empathy. And they can recognize our imperfections while pushing us to be better.
There will be a lot of talk about cops and killings; violence and looting in the coming days. And that’s all it is: talk.
We all need to be the “helpers” as Mr Rogers once said. Help Democracy in the US save itself by getting every registered voter to cast their ballot come November. Help educate our neighbors and ourselves about the legacy of racism. These are not easy conversations.
My suggestions:
Spend some time with the New York Times 1619 Project. This Wikipedia link provides a helpful overview and links to the materials incorporated in this effort.
Check out Robin Diangelo’s book: White Fragility-Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism (The Goodreads link embedded with the title offer other suggestions.)
An activist group fighting racism is: Showing Up for Racial Justice
Read: 5 Ways White People Can Take Action in Response to White and State-Sanctioned Violence
https://twitter.com/taylorswift13/status/1266392274549776387?s=20
https://twitter.com/LOshow/status/1265631250124951552?s=20
Hey folks! Be sure to like/follow Words & Deeds on Facebook. If you’d like to have each post emailed to you check out the simple subscription form on the right side of the front page.
Email me at WritetoDougPorter@Gmail.com
Lead image by Unicorn Riot (Creative Commons License)