Throughout the past week, I have spoken with friends of all races, ethnic groups, and genders about the ongoing racial conflicts that are routinely plaguing this nation. I will admit: I was hesitant to write this essay because I have become so weary of writing column after column depicting the horrendous violence that all too often confronts far too many Black Americans. Indeed, over the past month, I have written so many tragic accounts of the misfortunes that have visited so many people of African descent that I have become increasingly enraged. Yet simultaneously, in a concerning way (at least to me), I have become almost numb to chronicling such sordid accounts. To say that the nation is undergoing an ordeal of epidemic proportions is an understatement.
The COVID-19 pandemic, while disruptive, menacing and horrendous in its own right, appears to stand in the shadows of its much older sibling, the seemingly incurable virus of racism. Recently, CNN anchor Don Lemon accurately stated that America is suffering from two crises that are killing Americans, COVID-19 and racism. Mr. Lemon is spot on!
Mid-20th-century Black intellectual phenom James Baldwin deftly made the case that to be Black (then Negro) and conscious in America is to be in a constant stage of rage. There is immense truth in such a statement, from the tragic deaths of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, to police confronting a Black grandmother who jumped atop of her grandson in an effort to protect him from a possible hail of bullets from a posse of seemingly trigger-happy officers.
This was a 90-year-old southern Black woman! She knows the contentious and often all too violent history of Black people and law enforcement! To the unnerving racially infected encounter that occurred between New York’s George Cooper and Amy Cooper in Central Park due to the injured feelings and White fragility of Ms. Cooper. It appeared that things were increasingly reaching a fever pitch.
Now, on the heels of such searing unrest comes the violent death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man in Minneapolis whose life was brutally and callously snuffed out of him by a vile police officer, Derek Chauvin. Following the release of footage of then-officer Chauvin, he has since been charged with 3rd degree murder. Hopefully, this will be justly upgraded to 1st degree murder. Anyone who has witnessed the video (as I am certain that hundreds of millions of Americans have) cannot deny the fact that the suspect, Mr. Floyd (who had already been handcuffed), is making it clear that he is in excruciating pain! He is repeatedly calling out for his mother as he painfully cries out “I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe!”
At this point, any law enforcement officer with any degree of compassion or professionalism would have immediately offered some assistance to the aggrieved victim in question. As we could see, this was not the case with Mr. Chauvin. Rather than behaving like a decent human being, he continues to press his leg on the neck of Mr. Floyd, blocking his windpipe and causing him to suffocate! As if this isn’t horrifying enough, he appears to be smiling at various junctures during the encounter! Admittedly, this really set me off!
Ignoring the pleas of onlookers who made it clear to Chauvin that he was engaging in unnecessary force in his actions, he allows Mr. Floyd to lapse into a coma that culminates in his eventual death. It was an incident of sadistic proportions. It has since come to light that the wickedly violent Derek Chauvin had been cited for a history of previous police misconduct, yet he failed to face any disciplinary actions for such transgressions. The understandable pain and rage that was evident in the faces of the Floyd family as they conducted interviews under extreme duress was/is nothing short of heartbreaking. Sad!
Understandably, numerous protests erupted in response to the brutal and graphic death of Floyd. In truth, he was lynched. Period! From Minneapolis, where the incident occurred, to New York, to Atlanta, to Albuquerque, to Phoenix, to Denver, to Los Angeles, and other cities. This was a murder that touched people from coast to coast. What has been notable about the protests is how racially diverse and pluralistic they have been.
People from various racial groups and all walks of life have avidly participated in denouncing what they see as the blatant injustice inflicted upon George Floyd, his family, and many other previous Black and Latino victims of police brutality. While some right-wing blogs have attempted to dismiss the White protesters as Antifa members or, in the case of anti-Semitic websites, as “undercover Jews,” the truth is that the protests have garnered the support of more than a few socially conscientious people.
As has often been the case, such right-wing purveyors of hate had an ally in Donald Trump. Not surprisingly, the president, in his usual bombastic, confrontational manner, referred to the protesters as “thugs” and, further, issued direct threats advocating violence, declaring, “when the looting starts, the shooting will start.” YES! HE! DID!
Think about it! The president of the United States issuing such a violent warning. Can anyone imagine any other recent presidents making such untoward threats filled with invitations to wanton violence? Nonetheless, this is the Trump presidency, where normalcy and decorum have been all but outright forfeited in place of brash behavior and callousness. Thus, none of us should be too surprised at such a callous reaction from the 45th president.
Such arrogance demonstrates the obscene and diverse disparities in treatment that is often afforded to White and non-White people by our criminal justice system. Earlier this year, more than a few of us viewed thousands of angry, irate, and unabashedly White protesters violently storm statehouses and other public venues. In some cases, dissenters yelled, screamed, and spit in the faces of law enforcement officers. Aside from a few arrests, I do not recall any significant level of discipline occurring, let alone the use of tear gas and the imposition of strict curfews. Indeed, one can only imagine the likely and highly probable blood bath that would have resulted had similar numbers of Black, Latino and other non-White citizens confronted law enforcement so abruptly and aggressively. White privilege has its advantages.
As previously stated, such incidents have proven to be exhausting. Things have become so psychologically unnerving that the popular, mainstream intellectual Cornel West, in a recent interview with CNN host Anderson Cooper, stated that he has come to the conclusion that America is a “failed social experiment.” While I hope and pray that this is not the case, as I have hope in the power and spirit of redemption, I have begun to wonder if we as a nation and society have begun to reach the point of no return? The people are, indeed, getting tired!
—
Previously published on medium.com and is republished here under permission.
—
If you like this post, subscribe to updates from Dr. Elwood Watson’s publisher about his books and speaking engagements: https://bit.ly/TalkinToYouBro
***
Support us on Patreon to help us build a better, more inclusive world for all.
***
Photo credit: iStockphoto.com