George Floyd Murder Case
Hey friends? How have you been?
In this time, when we are trying our best to follow social and physical distancing, what would be your reaction if I tell you that riots are spreading all over the United States of America, the worst affected country from the pandemic? I hope you're all aware of George Floyd's murder case. The bloodcurdling murder of George Floyd has shaken up the administration of one of the most developed countries in the world.
In this dark hour, when the United States is already under pressure of the Covid-19 pandemic, these riots have hobbled the administration of Trump's government.
Why is it that the murder of one man has shaken up the people? What is the reason?
The Whole Case And The Reason of Riots
Well, I have seen many people talking about this case. The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter is trending on a worldwide scale. Actually, the precursor to all this goes back to 2014. This relates to the case of Erik Garner. Eric Garner (September 15, 1970 – July 17, 2014) was an African-American man. He had been a horticulturist at the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. He was a man who was suffering from severe Asthma and even to the extent that he was not able to walk for even a short period. On July 17, 2014, Eric Garner died in the New York City borough of Staten Island after Daniel Pantaleo, a New York City Police Department (NYPD) officer, put him in a chokehold while arresting him. Video footage of the incident generated widespread national attention and raised questions about the inappropriate use of force by law enforcement. NYPD officers approached Garner on July 17 on suspicion of selling single cigarettes from packs without tax stamps. After Garner told the police that he was tired of being harassed and that he was not selling cigarettes, the officers attempted to arrest Garner. When Pantaleo placed his hands on Garner, Garner refused to cooperate and pulled his arms away. Pantaleo then placed his arm around Garner's neck and wrestled him to the ground. With multiple officers restraining him, Garner repeated the words "I can't breathe" 11 times while lying face down on the sidewalk. After Garner lost consciousness, officers turned him onto his side to ease his breathing. Garner remained lying on the sidewalk for seven minutes while the officers waited for an ambulance to arrive. Garner was pronounced dead at an area hospital approximately one hour later. The case had sharply divided federal officials and prompted national protests over excessive force by the police. Bystanders filmed the arrest on their cellphones, recording Mr. Garner as he gasped, "I can't breathe" and his death was one of the several fatal encounters between black people and the police that catalyzed the national Black Lives Matter movement. This homicide of Eric Garner had created a national movement and a feeling of sympathy was generated for the man. Shockingly, George Floyd's case has many similarities as Eric Garner's. On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old-black man, died in Minneapolis, Minnesota. That day he was arrested on 'suspicion' of using a counterfeit bill at a nearby market. There a policeman, Derek Chauvin, arrested him on the same 'suspicion'. The white police officer knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes (8 minutes and 46 seconds) while Floyd was lying down on the street, handcuffed. In the meantime, two police officers restrained Floyd and the fourth one prevented side viewers and onlookers from intervening in the brutal act. While Floyd begged for his life which gave the officers no pity. He was repeatedly telling officers the same thing Garner said, "I can't breathe." In the final three minutes, George had had no pulse. People standing nearby pleaded the officers but it surely had no effect on them. Videos were recorded and circulated widely on social media. Two autopsies found this case to be another homicide. All the four officers were fired that day. Chauvin was charged with a second-degree and third-degree murder as well as second-degree manslaughter. The other three officers have been charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension are both investigating the incident. After this incident, demonstrations and protests against police brutality are taking place. This incident is compared with Eric Garner's case. "Can't Breathe" and "Black Lives Matter" movements are happening worldwide. Protests are mostly taking place in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area. The Police People have fired tear gas on the demonstrators while at the moment, many shops have been looted and burnt. My Opinion!  This is a topic that should be given some personal opinion. I don't confirm this news that 'Shoot At Sight' orders have been given or not but if they are given, the government is not taking a good step. These riots are spreading CoronaVirus, too. Therefore, the government needs people to cooperate and that can be achieved by only one way, spreading awareness that the government is not against the blacks and see them as active citizens of the nation. In my opinion, these both acts were very brutal and shouldn't have been done in such a developed country where people are believed to have open-minded thinking. In one of my earlier posts, Equality For All, I mentioned racism as one of those discriminations that have nearly ended from the whole world. But this incident proved me wrong. Racism is still alive and people still believe blacks as bad. This human community has been fighting for equality for centuries and lives have been sacrificed to eradicate its own kind of discrimination. These kinds of acts show that those people sacrificed their lives for nothing because when the people who are supposed to protect us get indulged in unbailable crimes, it becomes really hard to understand the mentality of some. Well, if you're one of those, who see any group or community be bad just because of anything that does not count significantly or in short, if you discriminate on any basis, then I'm sorry to say that the upcoming generation is not going to tolerate this kind of society. They'll always want all people to be equal. George Floyd and Eric Garner didn't die in vain and they never will. They'll always remain in the core of our hearts. Their sacrifice will lead to a new future. A future where blacks will not be given sympathy; they'll be given equality. They don't need pity, they need support. They need a platform to show their talents and abilities. This not only applies to blacks but also everyone who is considered as minor on any basis. Be it religion, gender, caste, race etc. This might be a short post for this big topic but I hope you have got enough knowledge about this case. But awareness needs to be spread. And for George Floyd and Eric Garner, one statement of Martin Luther King Jr fits suitably, "Let's not make their struggle go in vain." Black lives freely and that matters too. Positive News As I said in my last informative post (The Upcoming Economic Crisis) that I'd be telling you a piece of positive news every time I'll post something informative. It becomes important because staying positive in this dark time is significant. 1. . 2.12-year-old from Noida donates 48,000 to fund 3 migrants' air travel to Jharkhand. 3. Brits reach out to migrant workers stranded along Goa’s coastal belt 4. Conductor buys masks for passengers with Rs 27,000 salary. 5. India's Covid-19 recovery rate turns to over 48.2%. |
Great article.. Really informative. 👍👍👍
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