Tuesday, June 2, 2020

a latter-day lynching

On Monday, May 25, 2020, a black man, George Floyd, was strangled to death on camera by a white Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chavin, who has since the incident been arrested and charged, among other things with "third degree homicide -- a charge that seems to have been made up to fit this incident, but no other. Third degree murder is simply homicide.

The Floyd death has many of the hallmarks of a latter-day lynching.

Floyd's death and the filming of it have loosed a pent-up wrath not just among black citizens. Streets across the country are awash in people of many hues who are sick to death of the crass cruelty meted out not just to blacks but to anyone under Donald Trump's presidential reign. Poverty and the maladministration of justice seem to be at the root. The likelihood that the upper echelons of wealth will be held accountable is small, from where I sit: Let the riff-raff-squabble ... that seems to be the calming hum coming from the choirs with plenty of money as they view those who live pay-check-to-paycheck.

All if this is playing out against a backdrop of corona19 epidemic that has killed hundreds of thousands worldwide and threatens to renew itself even as the rallies persist.

I would be a liar to say I were anything but confused by this tsunami of unrest.

Donald Trump all but (everything is "all but" for him) declared martial law on TV last night. National Guardsmen took a knee in sympathy with the protesters yesterday. The presidential election of 2020 inches closer and closer. The disparity in wealth and poverty hones its edges. I am almost literally afraid to seek out the "news" on TV.

A "latter-day lynching" is what I set out to say as I searched for a period to put on this blog-post sentence. The period refuses to adhere.
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2 comments:

  1. Andy ShizenJune 3, 2020 at 3:01 PM

    I think at some level you realize that calling the death of George Floyd a “lynching by police” is essentially erroneous hyperbole. Using such language is something the young and naive and idealistic and prejudiced use; demagogues as well.

    The lynching part is close in meaning but it wasn't a lynching as much as a depraved hate crime by one or more guys with serious psychological issues.

    The police part is far from true. Likely at least three of the four cops, but label all of their police department? Unlikely. Label all police throughout the country? Certainly not!

    Yeah, systemic racial prejudice is still a problem, let's not frame it in such way to throw more fuel and fan the flames of ignorance & hatred further.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lionel LinJune 5, 2020 at 1:59 AM

    I am clueless who is at fault here. I am aware that George is a suspect when he was pinned down.

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