Post by Portiaami on Jun 9, 2020 13:08:38 GMT
Turning George Floyd Into an American Revolutionary Doesn’t Serve Justice
townhall.com/columnists/gavinwax/2020/06/06/turning-george-floyd-into-an-american-revolutionary-doesnt-serve-justice-n2570161
George Floyd’s tragic death under the knee of ex-cop Derek Chauvin may yet prove to be a rare unifying moment for America, when an injustice leads to real, positive change. That’s why false narratives and radical agendas must be rejected.
On Thursday, a memorial service for Floyd was held in Minneapolis, the same city where 10 days earlier he died after suffering for nine minutes under the unrelenting weight of Chauvin, who now faces murder charges. Floyd was just 46 years old.
Leading the service was activist Al Sharpton, who declared “a different time and a different season” had arrived after Floyd’s death. He cited protests worldwide and the diverse racial makeup of the protesters, but he did not wait long to unleash his habitual racial invective.
“George Floyd's story has been the story of black folks because the reason we could never be what we wanted is because you kept your knee on our neck,” Sharpton said of America, repeating the “your knee on our neck” line three more times for effect.
That isn’t George Floyd’s story though.
Floyd was loved by friends and family who said beautiful things about him at the memorial Thursday. May he rest in peace. May his family win the justice he and they all deserve.
But was Floyd held down in life by the knee of America? No, he wasn’t. Was his extensive criminal record a result of his skin color? No, it wasn’t.
What’s at stake for Sharpton that he would twist things like that? What does it have to do with pursuing justice for Floyd? All it does actually is invite more scrutiny of Floyd’s life, exposed most coldly and openly in criminal conviction records.
No one deserves to die the way Floyd did, and pending a trial, it certainly appears Chauvin is guilty of murder or at least manslaughter. The trial may or may not reveal any racist motivation of Chauvin and his fellow officers who are also facing charges. So far, there is no evidence of racism at play in Floyd’s death, unless someone’s race is in and of itself evidence of racism.
If there’s unity in America today, it’s that no police officer should ever be allowed to get away with what happened to Floyd. However, there is an idolization of Floyd that’s happening in tandem with a racially charged movement.
One example of this exaltation is captured in an Associated Press story comparing Floyd to Crispus Attucks, who is widely believed to be the first man killed in the 1770 Boston Massacre that kicked off the American Revolution.
continued ...
Bold emphasis mine
townhall.com/columnists/gavinwax/2020/06/06/turning-george-floyd-into-an-american-revolutionary-doesnt-serve-justice-n2570161
George Floyd’s tragic death under the knee of ex-cop Derek Chauvin may yet prove to be a rare unifying moment for America, when an injustice leads to real, positive change. That’s why false narratives and radical agendas must be rejected.
On Thursday, a memorial service for Floyd was held in Minneapolis, the same city where 10 days earlier he died after suffering for nine minutes under the unrelenting weight of Chauvin, who now faces murder charges. Floyd was just 46 years old.
Leading the service was activist Al Sharpton, who declared “a different time and a different season” had arrived after Floyd’s death. He cited protests worldwide and the diverse racial makeup of the protesters, but he did not wait long to unleash his habitual racial invective.
“George Floyd's story has been the story of black folks because the reason we could never be what we wanted is because you kept your knee on our neck,” Sharpton said of America, repeating the “your knee on our neck” line three more times for effect.
That isn’t George Floyd’s story though.
Floyd was loved by friends and family who said beautiful things about him at the memorial Thursday. May he rest in peace. May his family win the justice he and they all deserve.
But was Floyd held down in life by the knee of America? No, he wasn’t. Was his extensive criminal record a result of his skin color? No, it wasn’t.
What’s at stake for Sharpton that he would twist things like that? What does it have to do with pursuing justice for Floyd? All it does actually is invite more scrutiny of Floyd’s life, exposed most coldly and openly in criminal conviction records.
No one deserves to die the way Floyd did, and pending a trial, it certainly appears Chauvin is guilty of murder or at least manslaughter. The trial may or may not reveal any racist motivation of Chauvin and his fellow officers who are also facing charges. So far, there is no evidence of racism at play in Floyd’s death, unless someone’s race is in and of itself evidence of racism.
If there’s unity in America today, it’s that no police officer should ever be allowed to get away with what happened to Floyd. However, there is an idolization of Floyd that’s happening in tandem with a racially charged movement.
One example of this exaltation is captured in an Associated Press story comparing Floyd to Crispus Attucks, who is widely believed to be the first man killed in the 1770 Boston Massacre that kicked off the American Revolution.
continued ...
Bold emphasis mine
