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Originally Posted by cam_wmh
For the murder, it absolutely does not.
It’s to provide discourse into who he was. I can appreciate that this could be perceived as victim blaming.
Drug use, seems to be the root of his problems, and subsequent criminal activity. His murder was broadcast so vividly to us, that our instincts were policing, and racial injustice.
Should that be ignored? No, but as critical thinkers, we should want to know the full story.
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I think we're losing the plot a little bit.
George Floyd was killed by the police. Was race a motive. Maybe, maybe not. The statistics would indicate that race, at a minimum, plays a part in policing in more of the US, moreso in some areas than others.
I would argue that maybe the bigger issue is the culture of authoritarianism that pervades policing. They are trained to be aggressive when confronted. They are trained to take charge of the situation, usually through physical force or the treat of physical force. Historically, the police have fewer consequences that non-police for the same infraction- they are held to a lesser standard, whereas, as those who are entrusted to enforce the rule of law, they should be held to a higher standard. They are generally not trained in de-escalation which, not surprisingly, often escalates already tense situations.
But the public, through years of media manipulation and police propaganda have been lulled into the notion of the police being in charge and to do whatever they say or it could be bad for you. We find every excuse for the police because we've been fed the notion for decades that the life of a police officer is somehow more valuable than Joe Public. It's not, even if Joe Public is brandishing a knife, has a criminal record or is high AF. If someone is not breaking the law they should have no fear to stand up to police in a non-threatening manner. In too many places that would get you arrested, particularly if you're black or, in our case, indigenous.
Policing is an inherently dangerous profession and I understand how they might be on edge. But wouldn't you want to de-escalate violence in that case? Wouldn't you want the community to trust you, respect you and not fear you? Modern policing, at least in North America, too often relies on fear of the police. It seems to me that there are some obvious things that can be done to improve the culture of policing like better training, better recruitment, more effective oversight and less capitulation to the union. Obviously, these things alone won't fix everything but it sure would help.
George Floyd was no hero but he is a martyr. It would be a real shame if, after the dust has settled, his death and all of the violence and property damage results to going back to business as usual only to have this repeated 1 or 2 or 10 years from now.