Friday, May 29, 2020

The Fire in Minneapolis This Time



If people are shown over and over again that they are a 911 call away from possibly being murdered in broad daylight, and that the officers involved will suffer few consequences because they have escaped consequences for questionable acts before, and because law enforcement officers often do, can they expect words alone to convey the grief and rage of that, to people who have demonstrated they understand none of it? This scene is because justice is not being served but denied, because the community has gone unheard, and because tear gas and rubber bullets (and provocateurs on the police side) are not tools of de-escalation, but fuel poured on a fire that already didn't lack for it.

The officers who participated in the open-air lynching of a man accused of a non-violent offense who showed no sign of being a physical threat to them or anyone else should be charged. George Floyd did not have to die. His family and community deserved better, but justice is all there is to give at this point. And in the face of these nights of desperation, how can it stay denied?

Cities burn when people don't learn. It has happened before, and until equal justice under the law is rendered, I don't see it stopping.

1 comment:

Formerly Amherst said...

Hey Vixen,

This is all old hat for many of us. And I can tell you where it ultimately leads.

Increased gun sales. White flight. Deterioration of the city. And a lot of candidates like President Trump being elected.

Many of us were involved in stuff like this even before Watts went up. It was a novelty in the beginning, but by this time it has all become very predictable. Naturally, the cop who is responsible will go to trial. The outcome will come from a more sober evaluation of the evidence.

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