Protests and riots
continue to rage thirteen days after George Floyd, an African American man
living in Minneapolis, was brutally killed by a police officer during an
arrest. We all know and have seen that
part of the story. Protesters are
claiming, with some validity, police brutality, chanting “Black Lives Matter”,
and decrying the return of what appears to be broad spectrum racial hatred,
bigotry and prejudice in the United States.
Of course, it is not a “return”, it never left. It had only been swept under the rug covering
our cultural floor. That covering, many
claim, being only a thin fabric of feigned civility and political
correctness. This was a muzzle that many
Americans were ready to cast off, saying “we’ve had enough”. That frustration
rose up, somewhat unexpectedly, during the 2016 election and we are all living
with the result.
That thin fabric has been
torn away again, as it has at critical times throughout our history, by a
tragic event, revealing a fatal flaw in the American character that our society
has been attempting to fix for over two hundred years. More on that later in this post.
The family of George
Floyd, prominent Civil Rights pastors, politicians and the protesters who abhor
his treatment and ultimate fate, have eulogized this man and presented him as
an innocent martyr begging for his life before five police officers who are
supposed to “serve and protect”, not kill their own citizens. Was George Floyd a model citizen? No, not really. We have been told he was being arrested for attempting
to pass a counterfeit $ 20 bill; illegal, but hardly a capital offense. What I haven’t seen on the evening news,
Facebook, Twitter and blog posts quite a much, or at all, is that the
46-year-old Mr. Floyd was what most expert authorities would call a “career
criminal”. He had been in jail or prison
five times since 1995. His charges and
convictions included drug abuse and criminal possession, theft, criminal trespassing,
aggravated robbery, and, as the ringleader of a violent home invasion, he broke
into a woman’s home in Houston, pointing a gun at her stomach and demanding
drugs and money in 2009. He was caught,
tried and spent four years in prison in Diboll, Texas before being paroled and
moving to Minneapolis.
Blood tests performed
during his autopsy revealed Mr. Floyd was under the influence of both Fentanyl and
methamphetamine at the time of his arrest, a potentially deadly cocktail of
drugs. This might account for his
refusal to be put in the police vehicle claiming “claustrophobia”. In part, it also might account for the heart
attack (cardiopulmonary arrest) he suffered, which was the Hennepin County
medical examiner’s “official” cause of death, not asphyxiation. Aside from the passing
of counterfeit money and the possible detection of his drug use, it is doubtful
that any of the police at the scene knew of Floyd’s past offenses and criminal
history. Which is why this appears, and
is being interpreted, as a racially fueled or motivated assault, but that will
ultimately be decided in a court of law.
The only thing I believe is that George Floyd did not deserve to die; not
this time, not in this way. As a
Christian, I know I am supposed to love him and forgive him as our Lord would
do. But, I must admit, sometimes, I
struggle with that. I am not perfect by any means.
Ever since the scourge of
slavery was prevalent in our country from its founding and finally abolished at
the end of a Civil War, which took some 620,000 American lives, our country has
been trying to right the wrongs of that egregious system of oppression and
prejudice. No less than eight civil rights acts (1866, 1871, 1875, 1951, 1960,
1964, 1968, and 1991) have been enacted to “level the playing field” for people
of color, minorities and women. The landmark
Civil Rights Act of 1964 attempted to address inequalities in voting,
education, employment, use of public facilities, transportation, administration
of justice, federal government assistance and other civil rights. While a major step, it still was not
enough. Add to those pieces of
legislation the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, the Voting Rights Act of
1965, the Fair Housing Act of 1968 and the Refugee Act of 1980, and we are
still not there yet. Why not? Because as hard as you try to legislate
prejudice and bigotry out of existence, nothing will change until the heart of
humankind is changed. Until the concept
of white supremacy is recognized, confessed and banned from our way of life,
until the shame of inequality among the races challenges us to change, until we
recognize that we are all children of God, this fight for equality and
justice will rage on. Will George Floyd
be the “last straw” that finally opens our eyes or will there be more George
Floyd’s? Will those who have suffered
outrageous circumstances, oppression, even death, before this current tragedy
be finally vindicated? We will see.
There are new laws being
proposed, changes in police tactics and protocols being adopted across the
country in response to this one incident and people are speaking out in
peaceful protests. All good things. Looters and vandals are complicating the
issue (and the wheels of justice must address that head on), but there is more
to this story, much more. I will try to
address some of these issues directly in my future posts in a search for
understanding. Hope you will continue to
follow along and comment as you see fit.
Two books I've recently read - Baptist's "The Half Has Never Been Told" and Beckett's "Empire of Cotton" - delve deep into America's "original sin" of slavery. Especially Baptist's, which convincingly makes the case that early American society capitalism was built on the backs of the enslaved. You mention slavery in this post, but I'd posit that the founding of the nation with a document deeply flawed by racism (3/5 person compromise) as we evolved ones understand it today, was not really an attempt to fix what already inflicted the society. Neither the US Constitution, not Reconstruction, nor the Civil Rights movement have rooted this grave defect from America's DNA.
ReplyDeleteThis doesn't mean we don't stop trying to root it out and away, but we need to understand the immensity and grand scope of this evil in our society. I think a lot of folks who don't have the perspective and experience of people of color in our society think racism akin to an alcoholic uncle who simply needs to have greater willpower to fight the urge to drink. In reality, the cure our society needs is akin to the uncle needing urgent intervention and full-on treatment for the disease that inflicts him. Willpower alone isn't sufficient - but what's needed is a type of healing that springs forth from true confession, rigorous self-reflection and inventory taking, amend making, and reliance upon the wisdom of those - in this case, black and brown persons in our society - who can show the rest of us that which we don't see and fail to understand.
Keep at it, my friend.
Thanks for your analysis. BTW, I agree with you 100 % and I believe, as you do, that full on healing is needed. What I need to understand, however, is what is involved in "making amends". See my next post on "Reparations". Jud
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